Boys Before Flowers: How It Should Have Ended Part2 (The Continuation)
by cutestuff024
Summary: Yi Jung wants to propose to Ga Eul and the whole gang is there to help, but things don't always go according to plan. Continuation of "A Ji Hoo and Jan Di story". If you haven't read Part 1, please go read it. It's short and quick! I hope you enjoy it! P.S. I ship JanHoo.
1. Chapter 1

_From the author's desk:_

 _This is the second part of my "How It Should Have Ended (A Ji_ _Hoo_ _and Jan Di story)" story. Since it looks like more than one person read that story and asked me to continue, I'm writing this short story for them! Thank you, dear readers for inspiring me and giving me the push to write more. If you haven't read it yet, please go and read "Boys Before Flowers: How It Should Have Ended (A_ _JiHoo_ _and_ _JanDi_ _story)" first and then write a review on that one!_

 _It is a short read but I've been told quite an enjoyable one._

 _This story is a continuation of my previous work. It tells of the life of the group and their adventures (or misadventures, ha ha) after the Bonus Chapter in Part 1. I don't want to divulge too much so just read on to learn more! I hope you enjoy it!_

 _~cutestuff024_

 _#_ _givingJiHooAHappyEnding_ _#_ _janhoo_ _#_ _jandi_ _#_ _jihoo_ _#_ _soeul_ _#_ _woobin_ _#_ _gaeul_ _#_ _yijung_ _#_ _junpyo_

 **Chapter 1**

Ji Hoo glanced at the clock on the wall in his office. It was almost 9 o'clock in the evening and he was still busy filling out paperwork. His shift had ended half an hour ago. He had told Jan Di not to wait for him since he didn't know what time he was going to be out. Even though he had given her his schedule, it changed so frequently that they often just used it as a guideline. Most of the time he worked more hours than what his schedule dictated, especially if he had paperwork to do.

He yawned, stretched, and started packing up his things. He was just getting to his car when he saw Jan Di step onto the bus across the street. He ran towards the bus, yelling her name, but she didn't seem to hear him. He saw her sit at the back of the almost empty bus and close her eyes immediately.

Ji Hoo ran back to his car and floored on the gas.

…

Jan Di knew she shouldn't wait for Ji Hoo, but she hadn't seen him all day so she decided to hang around the hospital for a while. She even brought a book to read while she waited. Halfway through reading, she started nodding off.

She looked at her watch. It was almost 9 o'clock. She sighed, feeling a little sad that she won't see him tonight.

Ji Hoo had told her to call Mr. Gil (Ji Hoo's chauffeur) to pick her up but she always felt bad bothering the poor man so she decided to take the bus instead.

She was so tired that when the bus stopped in front of her she simply stood there, unmoving, not realizing that it was her bus.

"Are you getting in or not?" The bus driver asked, irritably.

Jan Di bowed an apology, then hopped in. The bus was almost empty so she went all the way to the back and sat down. She fell asleep instantly.

It was ten minutes later when Jan Di woke up and realized, to her horror, that she had fallen asleep on someone's shoulder.

No, not just their shoulder, whoever it was had their arm wrapped around her and she was snuggled onto his chest. She turned red, and made a face. She wrinkled her brows trying to remember if there was someone there when she sat down, but her mind was hazy.

She tentatively opened one eye and looked up.

Ji Hoo sat there beside her, eyes closed. He was breathing softly. His head leaned lightly onto hers.

Jan Di's eyes popped wide open.

 _What's he doing here? When did he get on?_

She looked out the window and realized she had missed her stop. She glanced at Ji Hoo again, looking so peacefully asleep, and decided she didn't care.

She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

…

Ji Hoo drove like a madman trying to beat the bus. He had missed the first stop, but he sure wasn't going to miss the next. He finally got ahead of the bus and stopped, parked his car at the side of the road and then hopped onto the bus.

He walked quickly to the back of the bus and saw Jan Di's head lolling around, dangerously close to falling and smacking on something. He sat beside her, put an arm around her and positioned her head comfortably onto his chest.

He tucked some stray strands behind her ears and just gazed fixedly at her for a few minutes.

 _I'm sorry I was late again_ , he thought, wanly.

He hated not being able to spend a lot of time with her, but he kept telling himself that eventually, after they graduate, they could take a break from work and just spend time together. Maybe even travel. He thought about bringing her to Canada one day. When he mentioned it to her before, she had shown a lot of interest so he made a mental note to bring her there.

He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and then closed his eyes.

…

"Excuse me!"

Jan Di squinted. Someone was poking her shoulder.

"Miss, excuse me!" The bus driver looked at her, then at Ji Hoo, who was still fast asleep. He seemed a little annoyed. "But I'm done for the day and this is the last stop before I head back to the depot."

She looked around, having no clue as to where they were.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, then she turned to Ji Hoo and gave him a slight nudge. He opened his eyes and for a minute he looked disoriented.

"Where are we?"

She shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." She grabbed her purse. "But we have to go."

He stood up and together they stepped off the bus.

"So, where is your car?" They both walked around the deserted street, trying to find the street name, or some kind of landmark.

Ji Hoo grinned sheepishly. "I left it near a bus stop trying to get to you."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Why would you do that?"

He shrugged, nonchalantly. "I wanted to see you."

She blushed. "But now we don't know where we are and how we're getting home."

"Would I do something like this without thinking ahead?" He stated, confidently.

Truth be told, he hadn't thought that far ahead. But she didn't need to know that.

He thought for a moment, pulled out his phone and dialed his chauffeur.

"Yes, can you please find out where Bus 52's last stop is? That's pretty much where we are." He paused. "Yes, we'll wait right here."

They sat by the sidewalk, looking up at the night sky. It was late, they had no clue where they were, and she was getting eaten by mosquitoes.

Still, Jan Di couldn't help smiling.

"What are you thinking of?" Ji Hoo asked, his head cocked to the side.

"How beautiful this night is."

He smiled back at her, then his face turned serious. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much."

She waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, we knew what we were getting into when we decided to save the world." She meant to say it jokingly but instead it came out sounding bitter.

Mr. Gil arrived after half an hour, and Jan Di was so relieved to see the nice driver that she almost gave him a hug.

They swung by the bus stop to pick up Ji Hoo's car, just in time to see a tow truck pull up in front of it.

Ji Hoo muttered a quick apology to the tow truck driver.

Jan Di heaved a sigh of relief as they quickly got into his car and drove away. He held her hand as he drove her home, and hummed a soft melody that made her smile.

It was almost midnight when she crawled into bed that night, but all the tiredness she had felt earlier that day seem to have disappeared.

 _It's funny how quickly one's mood can change sometimes._

She smiled as she thought of the day's events.

 _Only he can make me smile after a bad day,_ she thought, as she fell asleep.

 _..._

Jan Di sat at the hospital cafeteria staring at her watch. It was almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon and Ji Hoo was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the room looking for his copper colored head but frowned when she couldn't find him. He had never been this late before.

Her stomach made a loud grumbling noise. Jan Di placed a hand on her stomach and decided she couldn't wait for him anymore. She grabbed a few items from the lunch line, not really paying attention to what she was grabbing, paid for it, and then sat down on one of the chairs near the door. She picked at her food unenthusiastically, and just started shoving them in her mouth. She needed to eat to get her strength.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

Jan Di looked up and saw Ji Hoo standing there, his face apologetic. He was wearing his white doctor's robe and his glasses were perched on top of his nose. He had small dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted.

She gave a small nod. She was getting used to it lately.

 _I wonder why_ , she thought, dryly.

She knew the answer to that question, of course. Most of the moms had heard of the handsome young pediatrician doing his residency there, and they'd all been requesting him to oversee their children. Sometimes she'd even seen women in their early twenties insist they see the pediatrician for _themselves_. She heaved a heavy sigh.

Even though she and Ji Hoo were both working at the Seoul National University Hospital, she barely got to spend a lot of time with him. The hospital was massive and was comprised of four main areas: the Main Hospital, the Children's Hospital, the Cancer Hospital and the Dental Hospital (they also had a Clinical Research Institute). She was in the main hospital doing her clinicals while he was in the Children's hospital doing his residency. Still, they tried their best to meet up for lunch whenever they could.

"Hey, you ok?" Ji Hoo bent down to look at her face. She realized she was still frowning.

"How's work?" She tried to smile but it came out as a grimace instead.

Ji Hoo grabbed an apple from her tray and bit on to it. "Ugh. It's exhausting." He sat down in front of her. "How's your clinical going?"

Jan Di shrugged. "I didn't mess anything up today so I guess it's good."

She was feeling deflated lately. She had been assigned to Dr. Lee at the walk-in clinic, and he was a notorious perfectionist. If she so much as breathed the wrong way, she got in trouble for it. Add that to the fact that she'd barely seen Ji Hoo lately, and she'd turned into a miserable wreck.

Ji Hoo took her hands and gave them a squeeze. He then went to sit beside her and enveloped her in a hug. She sank onto him, sniffing back tears.

"I miss you too," he said, as he sighed loudly. "I'll try and get some time off here soon so we can spend some time together, okay?"

Jan Di nodded slowly. She was trying not to get her hopes up as she knew how important this residency was to Ji Hoo. She was quite busy too but seeing him gave her strength and some days she found she really needed it.

Ji Hoo's pager beeped. He looked at it and rolled his eyes. "How many babies could possibly be born in one day?" He muttered to himself. He had to do the rounds and check on each newborn baby as part of his duties at the hospital.

"Go," she urged him, forcing a smile. "I'll just finish my lunch then I have to go too anyway."

He looked at her hesitantly before he stood up. His pager beeped again. He muttered a silent curse, then stood up and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later, okay? I'll drive you home and we can have dinner together."

"Okay." She said, as she watched him run towards the children's wing.

As exhausted as he looked, she saw a few heads still turn to gawk at him as he passed by their tables.

 _Whose bright idea was it to go to medical school and become doctors anyway?_

…

Jan Di stood outside the main doors waiting for Ji Hoo. She had a long day listening to people's ailments – some real, most of them made up. She had come to the conclusion that most people were hypochondriacs. Still, she listened to each and every issue with diligent attention and care.

"Were you waiting long?" Ji Hoo's voice interrupted her thoughts. He was panting, and she realized he most likely ran all the way there.

"No, not really. Five minutes maybe?" She didn't want him to worry, but in truth she had been waiting there for over 30 minutes.

"Good." His face showed relief. He cocked his head and smiled that smile that she knew so well – that smile that she loved and could take away all her worries and tiredness. "So, where did you want to eat?"

She smiled back at him. "I'm having a craving for _japchae*_."

He put an arm around her as they walked to his car. "Your wish is my command."

They sat at the restaurant hungrily devouring their food while chatting about their day. Jan Di could tell Ji Hoo was exhausted and could fall asleep any minute, but he sat up straight and tried to listen to her attentively, nodding his head now and then to agree with her.

"We had one patient today that kept saying he hurt everywhere," Jan Di continued, as she ate. "He touched his head and said it hurt, then he touched his leg and said it hurt, then he touched his arm, his stomach, his nose and complained everything hurt."

"What happened to him?" Ji Hoo asked, as he slurped the noodles from his bowl.

"It turns out his finger was broken," Jan Di rolled her eyes, and she and Ji Hoo started laughing together.

"I had an 80-year-old woman come in today," Ji Hoo stated, as he picked up some more noodles with his chopsticks. "She kept insisting I take her cat on as my patient. She said it was her baby." He shook his head as he recollected the event. "Then she kept winking at me and calling me honey. It was awkward for a while until the nurses came and politely escorted her out."

Jan Di's eyes widened but Ji Hoo just chuckled. "Ah, the interesting people you meet nowadays."

She grinned at him and nodded.

 _I miss this_ , she thought, feeling a little better now that they had some semblance of normalcy again.

For dessert he ordered her some green tea ice cream which they shared, and Jan Di wished that the night would never end.

Alas, it was time for them to go home.

Ji Hoo drove her home in silence, which she chalked up to his exhaustion, so she decided to give him some peace and quiet. She also decided that she needed to get her driver's license soon so she could relieve him when he was exhausted. They could always call his chauffeur, of course, but they liked the privacy of being just the two of them in the car, which was getting rarer and rarer nowadays.

He opened the door for her when they reached her place, and she noticed that he was still lost in his thoughts somewhere. He looked at her and she saw a deep sadness in his beautiful eyes, and she couldn't help but feel nervous.

 _What is going on? Why is he so sad?_

He gave her a light kiss on the lips, said goodnight, watched her walk into her house, and then drove off.

Jan Di watched until his car disappeared from her sight. She tried to ignore the frantic hammering in her heart. She had never seen him that sad – as if he had just given up on something.

She shook her head.

No, she was freaking out for no reason. He would never give up on them, she was sure of it. He was just exhausted.

 _Then why am I so nervous?_

...

 _(*Author's note: Japchae: glass noodles with mixed vegetables and/or meat)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Jan Di!" Ga Eul cried out excitedly, as she got out of Yi Jung's car. She ran to give her a hug and then looked her up and down. "How is my friend, the future doctor?"

Jan Di rolled her eyes. "I'd probably be 60 by the time that happens, the way I'm going."

Yi Jung walked towards Ji Hoo and gave his hand a playful shake. "So, what's new and exciting in the world of doctors?"

Ji Hoo shrugged. "Oh, you know, nothing much. Babies, babies and more babies! Everyone seems to be having babies nowadays."

"Everyone?" Yi Jung raised an eyebrow at Jan Di, then glanced at her stomach, teasingly.

Jan Di turned a deep shade of red. Ji Hoo just shook his head and laughed.

"You know what I mean," Ji Hoo corrected, though Yi Jung still eyed Jan Di jokingly.

Ga Eul gave him a little smack on the back. "Stop it," she chided. "If you don't stop teasing them every time we see them, they won't come meet with us again."

"Yeah right, that's never gonna happen," Yi Jung answered. "Ji Hoo will miss me too much."

"How's the sculpting going?" Ji Hoo decided to change the subject.

"Amazing, as usual," Yi Jung stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I have a showing soon; you guys should come." He glanced at both of them. "That is, if you guys aren't too busy."

"Just let us know when," Ji Hoo patted his friend on the back. "Jan Di and I will make time."

Jan Di's eyes wandered around, taking in her surroundings. They were at the Rose Garden at Seoul Grand Park. There were thousands and thousands of different colored roses around them, and Jan Di was in awe of all the beauty that surrounded them. She walked arm in arm with Ga Eul, as they inspected and read the description cards on each species of roses – she never realized there were so many of them.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Ga Eul commented, dreamily. She spread her arms wide and did a full 360 turn. "Imagine having this for a garden?"

Jan Di couldn't help but giggle at her friend's enthusiasm. It was a nice warm summer day, and both of them were wearing skirts and sleeveless shirts. She wore a wide brimmed hat that protected half her face from the sun. She turned around and saw the boys walking a few steps behind them.

Both of them wore their usual stylish clothes – a pair of dark colored slacks, a light collared shirt and a light coat on top. Both of them also wore dark sunglasses.

"Don't they ever feel hot wearing all that?" she pointed at the boys.

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "I think they'd rather suffer dehydration than go out in public dressed less than perfect."

Since their disastrous double date almost 6 months ago, the girls decided not to plan any more dates. Instead, the four of them just called each other up whenever they were all free and one of them would suggest a random place to meet up at, and then they just went on from there. It was a lot less pressure for all of them, and they often found themselves going to places they'd never been to before.

"Didn't Woo Bin sunbae say he was coming?" Jan Di suddenly remembered the funny but fearsome protector of their group.

"He was, but he got sent to Busan last minute," Ga Eul replied, as she bent over to examine a multi-colored rose. "He said he'll catch up if he can." She turned to face Jan Di. "How are things with Ji Hoo sunbae?"

Jan Di took a few seconds longer than normal to respond. "Good, I suppose." When Ga Eul gave her a questioning glance she gave a tensed smile. "We've just been so busy lately."

The boys finally caught up to them. They were carrying an ice cream cone in each hand. They each gave them one, and Jan Di and Ga Eul licked their ice cream contentedly.

They had dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby. It seemed like a posh place, but it had a nice romantic ambience to it, which is probably why the boys picked it, Jan Di concluded. They sat at one of the corner tables, which gave the four of them a bit of privacy.

She and Ga Eul decided to go to the washroom while waiting for their dessert to arrive.

"How come girls always go in pairs to the washroom?" Yi Jung observed, narrowing his eyes at them.

"So we could talk about you guys," Ga Eul answered, without missing a beat. It was obvious she was used to Yi Jung's teasing.

Ga Eul was still fixing her makeup so Jan Di decided to go back to their table ahead of her. The bathroom entrance was just in the hallway behind the wall of their table.

Jan Di was almost turning around the corner to their booth when she heard Yi Jung say her name. She stopped in her tracks, then listened. The boys were talking softly, almost too soft to hear. But she heard bits and pieces.

"Things are hard, huh?"

"Yeah, I don't know how much longer I can do this, Yi Jung."

Jan Di held her breath. She heard footsteps and saw Ga Eul come out of the bathroom, walking towards her. She shook her head and tried to shoo her away. Ga Eul arched an eyebrow questioningly but paused.

"Jan Di is going to freak out. Are you sure you want to do that?"

 _Freak out? About what?_ She had missed what they said before that.

"I have to do it, Yi Jung." Ji Hoo's voice sounded so sad, it made Jan Di's heart sink to the floor.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her skin. Ga Eul narrowed her eyes at her.

"Are we spying on them?" she whispered.

Jan Di scowled. "No, we can go now." Each step she took felt heavy, and she sat at their table unable to look at either of the boys.

Fortunately, their dessert arrived so Jan Di focused on it, exaggerating each bite she took. The other three looked at her in bewilderment but said nothing.

She wanted to ask Ji Hoo what they were talking about but she didn't want him to know she was eavesdropping on them. Besides, she had a hunch he wouldn't tell her anyway, since they said she would freak out.

But Jan Di _was_ freaking out inside.

Mainly because she had no idea what it was she was supposed to freak out about.

...

"I have to go to Canada," Ji Hoo blurted out as they were eating breakfast that day. "They want me to look into buying a hockey team."

He already owned a Major League Baseball team and a European soccer team so purchasing another team did not surprise Jan Di.

"You got time off from work?" she asked, incredulously.

He nodded, as a smile spread onto his face. "I've been working so much lately I'm sure they owe me a month's worth."

Jan Di brightened up. "When are we going?

Ji Hoo wouldn't look her in the eye. "I have to go by myself."

"Oh." She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

He looked at her and lifted her chin up. "But I promise, next time I'll bring you with me."

She nodded, though she was on the verge of tears. She had been an emotional mess since she overheard Yi Jung and Ji Hoo's conversation at the restaurant a few days ago.

She had also been looking forward to going to Canada with Ji Hoo, since they discussed it a few times already, but now that he was going he had decided not to bring her. She couldn't understand it.

"Hey," he pulled her in for a hug. "I'm just scouting a team. I'll be back soon."

She looked up at him. "How long will you be gone?"

"A week at most."

She forced a smile. "Okay."

"I promise to call every day." Ji Hoo looked at her with concern. "Jan Di?"

"Yes?" She couldn't look him in the eyes.

"I love you. Always. Don't ever forget that."

Her voice broke as she answered.

"I love you too."

...

It had only been two days since Ji Hoo left for Canada and Jan Di was already going crazy. She missed him so much at times she found herself staring at his picture on her phone for hours.

She scolded herself and told herself to smarten up. He was only gone for a week. She counted the hours, minutes and seconds until she saw him again.

At least she had the clinic to keep her busy.

At the end of another long day, her phone rang. Her face lit up as she thought of hearing Ji Hoo's voice again. She looked at the caller ID.

It was So Yi Jung.

She hadn't seen him since their dinner almost three weeks ago. She wondered if maybe he meant to dial Ga Eul but accidentally called her instead.

"Jan Di," Yi Jung began, dispelling Jan Di's doubts about being misdialed.

"Yi Jung sunbae!" she exclaimed. "Is anything wrong?"

He snorted. "Do I only call you when something's wrong?"

She thought for a moment. "Actually, you never call me."

"Darn. I better start," he laughed. "Hey, I need to talk to you. When are you free?"

Jan Di's heart jumped. Maybe he was going to tell her what he and Ji Hoo talked about that night. She glanced at her watch. Her shift was done soon.

"Let's meet at the coffee house across the street in an hour?" She answered, hopefully.

"Deal."

By the time Jan Di got to the coffee house, Yi Jung had already finished his cup of coffee. He smiled when he saw her come in.

"Sorry, sunbae." She got so excited about meeting Yi Jung that she couldn't focus on her work and made several mistakes. Dr. Lee made her repeat some tests twice, much to her chagrin.

"You look like you need a hug," Yi Jung observed, looking her up and down. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. "Too bad Ji Hoo and Ga Eul aren't here right now."

She frowned at him but he just chuckled.

"You are too easy, Geum Jan Di."

She sat down as the server brought out her coffee. The server was a cute young girl, she guessed to be at most 5 years younger than they were. She had big, brown, round eyes and her hair reminded Jan Di of her own hair when she was in high school – short with straight bangs. She looked like one of those anime dolls. She was also quite short – just around 5 feet tall.

"I took the liberty of ordering for you," he said, as the server also placed a cup in front of him.

She mumbled a quick thank you and then took a long, slow sip of her coffee. Even though she knew it wouldn't be there, she still turned the cup around to look for the smiley face out of habit.

"What did you want to talk about?" She looked at him expectantly.

His mouth formed into a straight line. He was deep in thought, unsure of how to begin.

He sighed deeply.

"I've been thinking a lot lately," he began, then he pursed his lips together as if contemplating whether to tell her something or not.

"That's dangerous for you. You might pop a vein or something!" A voice shouted from behind.

Jan Di and Yi Jung turned around to find a grinning Woo Bin walking casually towards them.

"Dude, you're like, late." Yi Jung reprimanded, while Woo Bin just shrugged.

Woo Bin sat down and yawned. "I'm tired. It's been a long day." He smiled at her. "How is our Geum Jan Di nowadays?"

"I'm good." She was glad to see Woo Bin again, who have somehow become the big brother of the group, even though the boys were all the same age.

The server came to their table and plopped down a cup of coffee in front of him. Woo Bin winked at her and said thanks, but the server seemed taken aback as she stood there, frozen, staring at him. Finally, she shook her head and hurriedly walked away. Jan Di saw her cheeks redden. She got a peek at her name tag before she disappeared. Her name was Park Hye Jin.

"You've got to stop doing that," Yi Jung scolded. "You get them all flustered for nothing." He leaned towards Jan Di. "One time, one of them was so ruffled she spilled a cup of hot coffee on my lap. It looked like I had an accident!"

"Hey, I replaced those pants!" Woo Bin chuckled. "It cost me a pretty penny too!"

"Forget the pants - I was worried I'd never be able to have kids one day!" Yi Jung retorted.

"I feel sorry for the kids you'll have," Woo Bin teased, but Yi Jung just glared at him.

After a minute though, they grinned at each other.

"So, why have you called us here?" Woo Bin inquired, leaning forward in his seat.

"I was just about to tell Jan Di when you interrupted us earlier." Yi Jung sighed, exasperatedly.

His face turned serious once more.

"Like I said, I've been thinking a lot lately." He paused to glare at Woo Bin, daring him to interrupt again.

Woo Bin pretended to be engrossed in drinking his cup of coffee.

"And?"

This was it. He was going to tell her what he and Ji Hoo talked about. She tried to sound casual even though inside she wanted to scream at him to go on.

"You know, all my life I've seen people who are supposed to be in love and stay together for life fall apart." He smiled a sad smile. "It makes one wonder if any love lasts nowadays." He looked into her eyes and she felt her heart clench. Is he going to tell her Ji Hoo's leaving her now? That his love is over?

"Loving someone and choosing to be with them is such a huge risk." Yi Jung cocked his head to the side, observing her. "It scares me to death." He picked up his cup and took a sip. "But once in a while, you find someone you're willing to take that risk for."

Jan Di wrinkled her forehead. "What are you saying, sunbae?"

Yi Jung's face turned serious.

"I'm going to ask Ga Eul to marry me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Are you serious, bro?" Woo Bin asked, in disbelief.

Yi Jung clasped his hands together. "I think so."

Woo Bin clapped him on the back. "That's great news, man! I never thought I'd see this day."

Jan Di's mouth hung wide open. She was in shock. Then a slow smile spread on to her face.

 _Ga_ _Eul_ _!_ She thought. _Oh my gosh! Ga_ _Eul_ _is going to be so happy! I can't believe she's going to get married soon!_

"Jan Di, I need your help," Yi Jung interrupted her thoughts.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Anything."

"Well, you're Ga Eul's closest friend. I need your help planning the perfect proposal." Yi Jung scratched his chin. "I want to propose in style." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You can't tell her about this, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back. "But why do you need my help? Aren't you the romantic one who knows all about these things?"

He bit his lower lip and sighed. "I haven't actually dated many girls like Ga Eul before." He tilted his head to the side. "You know...good girls. Believe it or not, I actually want to do this right."

"Hey, what about me? What's my role?" Woo Bin asked, feeling left out.

"You're here for emotional support, Woo Bin," Yi Jung answered.

"For who? Ga Eul or Jan Di?"

Yi Jung glared at him. "This is going to be the scariest thing I've ever done." He lowered his voice. "What if she says no? What if it doesn't work out?"

Woo Bin gave him a lopsided grin. "Ah, but what if it does?"

She gawked at him. Woo Bin raised both hands, palms up.

"Hey, just because I'm a player, doesn't mean I don't believe in love."

Their server arrived to clear out their table, just in time to hear Woo Bin's statement. She paused and almost knocked her tray over. Woo Bin caught a cup just in the nick of time and handed it back to her with a grin. She flushed, and rushed away from them so fast it was like someone had lit her shoes on fire.

"Believe it or not, it's us players who know more about love than anyone else." Woo Bin continued, as if nothing happened. "Right, Yi Jung?"

Yi Jung just gave him a smirk then turned to face her.

"Jan Di, you need to give me some tips and help me plan it."

He turned towards Woo Bin. "And you, you need to help with the song I wrote. We need to practice."

Woo Bin's brows shot up. "You wrote a song?" Then his face looked even more surprised. "Wait, we're singing?"

"Yup." He looked at Jan Di again. "I'll definitely need Ji Hoo for this. He's the musical genius of the group. I'll need him to play the piano and possibly sing most of it for us. I don't want Ga Eul to run when she hears Woo Bin and I sing."

Jan Di laughed. "She's heard you sing. You're pretty good."

"Yeah, that's because I was confident then! My nerves will be so shot this time I'd be lucky to utter a word."

She had never seen him in such a panic before. She smiled inwardly as she thought of how important this was for him.

"Wait, why would she run when she hears me sing? I'm a pretty good singer!" Woo Bin protested, but Yi Jung ignored him.

"When's Ji Hoo back again?" Yi Jung questioned her.

She pulled out her phone and glanced at the countdown she had set until his arrival.  
"5 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 25 seconds", she blurted out, without thinking.

Woo Bin and Yi Jung stared at her in astonishment. Woo Bin let out a low whistle.

She looked away, cheeks burning. "Or somewhere around there," she mumbled.

"Jan Di, I think you need a hobby," Yi Jung teased, though he was grinning from ear to ear.

She wished the ground would swallow her up whole then.

"Anyway," Yi Jung began, though a smile was still plastered on his face. "Promise me you'll make sure Ji Hoo is there, okay? Otherwise, I won't be able to go through with this."

"He'll be there," she promised. "When are you planning on doing it?" She was excited that she now had something to keep her mind distracted while Ji Hoo was away.

"Soon," Yi Jung rubbed his hands together. "As soon as we've got everything set up and ready."

Woo Bin shook his head. "I still can't believe it, you know." He met Jan Di's eyes. "I thought for sure Jan Di and Mister Long-Term-Commitment would be the first ones to get married in the group."

Jan Di shrank back in her seat. She looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Her hand automatically went to the simple gold ring she wore on her ring finger. The truth was, she and Ji Hoo had discussed getting married before. Anyway, in her mind she was already engaged to Ji Hoo when she accepted his ring.

"We agreed to wait until Ji Hoo's done his residency," she explained to them. "And Ji Hoo wants to...mend things with Jun Pyo first." Ji Hoo had mentioned that if they were to get married, he wished for Jun Pyo to be there. She understood. They were more than friends; they were brothers – and Ji Hoo wanted all his brothers to be there.

Woo Bin squeezed her shoulder, his eyes sympathetic. "I guess you guys might be waiting a while."

…

"Jan Di!" Ga Eul cried out on the phone. "Did you see the news?"

Jan Di rolled over on her bed. She was still half asleep. "Huh?"

"There's a big freak snowstorm in Calgary. Isn't that where Ji Hoo is?" Ga Eul sounded worried. "Is he okay?"

Jan Di sat straight up. Yes, Ji Hoo was in Calgary, which was a city in Western Canada. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's all over the news! Lots of people are snowed in."

Jan Di turned the tv on. Sure enough, they were talking about it on the news.

"I'll give him a call right now."

She decided to video call him so she could see his face. It rang around 7 times before he picked up.

"Hey," he greeted. His hair was all over the place and she could tell he had just woken up too.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you enjoying the weather there?" She asked, sarcastically. It had been nice and sunny all week in Seoul.

She heard some shuffling and saw him open a small fridge and grab a bottle of water. He opened the curtains and looked outside.

"I guess," he replied, and when he turned around to go back to the bedroom she caught a glimpse outside his window. It was clear and there was not a trace of snow on the ground.

Jan Di frowned in confusion. Why wasn't it snowing there? Where was he?

"Hey, I have to go. I have a meeting here soon," he yawned again, then gave her a lazy smile. "I miss you."

She forced a smile back. Her mind was screaming doubts at her.

As soon as they hung up, she plopped back onto her bed wanting to cry. Doubt gnawed at the edges of her mind.

 _Why did he lie to me? Where is he?_

…

Two days later, she met Yi Jung at the mall after her shift. He had called her earlier that day to ask for her help in picking out a ring for Ga Eul.

"I really appreciate you doing this for me, Jan Di." Yi Jung walked beside her, as they went from one jewelry store to another browsing through the displays.

She was almost out the door when a ring caught her eye. It was a sleek cathedral solitaire ring. The diamond was set on four prongs and the band was white gold. It was simple, yet classic.

Yi Jung asked the attendant to take it out for a closer look. The girl took out both rings – the male and female version. The male version was just a simple white gold band, around a quarter inch thick. Yi Jung looked at the price and frowned. "Are you sure she'll like this? Don't you think she'd want something bigger?"

Jan Di smiled and shook her head. Ga Eul was just like her; they liked simplicity. "She'd love it."

Yi Jung looked at her doubtfully. "You'd say yes if someone gave this to you?"

She nodded. Though her heart felt heavy with worry, she managed a small smile. "We don't care about the price. It's the person giving it to us that matters."

They got her to try it on to ensure they had the correct size. She and Ga Eul were almost similar in size so she was certain it would fit her friend perfectly. She walked out of the store, her mind in a daze, as Yi Jung paid for the ring and asked for their initials to be engraved on it.

She stared longingly at the ring on her finger. She tried to dispel the doubts she'd been having around Ji Hoo lately, but it was hard.

Her phone rang. She looked at it and saw Ji Hoo's name appear on the screen. She tried to sound cheerful as she answered. "Hey, I was just thinking about you!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm at the mall with Yi Jung sunbae."

"Oh." He paused. "How's the ring hunting going?"

"Good. We finally found one for her. He's just wrapping things up at the store." She looked at the date and smiled. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

She heard a few minutes of awkward silence on the other line. Her heart thumped nervously in her chest.

"Umm...about that," he began, though Jan Di had a pretty good idea what he was going to say next. "I'm not coming back tomorrow." She heard him sigh. "I have to stay here for a few more days."

"Oh." She saw Yi Jung coming out of the store, looking thrilled. She turned away from him, so he wouldn't see that she was on the brink of tears.

"I'm sorry." Ji Hoo's voice was soft, and sombre. "I'm just not done here yet."

"Ok." She sounded like a little mouse, but it was all she could do not to burst out sobbing. "I miss you, Ji Hoo," she managed to croak out.

"Is that Ji Hoo?" Yi Jung pointed at her phone. She managed a quick nod before handing it to him.

"Hey, what's up Ji Hoo?" Yi Jung's dimples appeared on his cheeks. "Oh. Okay. Yeah, okay. You better come back in time though!" He scowled. "I need you, dude!" A pause. "Uh huh. Okay. Be safe."

Jan Di hastily wiped a tear that made its way down her cheek.

Yi Jung handed her back her phone. She snatched it and stuffed it hastily in her purse.

"You okay?" Yi Jung eyed her uncertainly. "He'll be here on time, don't worry. He won't let me down."

She bit her lower lip and dipped her head slightly. Then she started walking out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Woo Bin sat in his car outside the coffee house across the street from the hospital. He was parked near the back alley of the store, waiting for Jan Di and Yi Jung to arrive. They were supposed to discuss possible locations for Yi Jung's grand proposal.

He glanced at his watch. It was a quarter to nine in the evening. It was dark now, the only lights coming from the lamp posts that were scattered sparingly around.

He noticed a small figure come out of the back door of the store, lugging two big garbage bags full of stuff. It took him a few seconds to recognize the short haircut and white and black uniform.

 _Hey, it's that server who always blushes around me_ , he thought, amused.

She passed by two men standing by another door a few feet from where she appeared. He watched her disappear even further down the dark alleyway.

He saw one of the men nudge the other guy and both of them followed her as they too, disappeared down the alley.

Woo Bin's senses came alive.

 _Oh no, you don't._ He thought, furious. He thought of the tiny and fragile girl in the hands of the two men as he ran down the alley. _When I get my hands on you two_...he imagined all sorts of pain he had in store for them.

He turned the corner and didn't notice that the ground there was a couple of steps lower than where he was. He tripped, causing his entire weight to crash down on one leg, and fell face first on to the ground. His mind blanked out for a split second as pain racked his entire body. He looked up and saw her standing there, eyeing him curiously.

The two men were beside her, each of them holding a garbage bag that they hurled across to the big black dumpster behind them. She thanked them both and then ran to him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, wide eyed with concern.

Woo Bin wanted to curse out loud. He tried to move his left leg but felt excruciating pain whenever he moved it. He grimaced and nodded.

She tried to help him sit up but he was too heavy. He pulled himself up, wincing with each move, and then tried to assess his situation.

He might have a broken leg, he guessed.

 _What an idiot_ , he scolded himself. _Way to make an entrance._

She sat there beside him, biting her lower lip. She had the biggest round eyes he had ever seen.

His phone rang. It was Yi Jung.

"Where the heck are you?"

"Umm..." he turned away from her, embarrassed. "I had a little...accident."

Yi Jung scoffed. "Your car's out here. I don't see a dent."

He sighed. "I'm at the back. Just come here." He hung up.

Hye Jin sat there, still as a statue. Her eyes darted nervously around. After a few minutes, she turned to face him. "Can I help you in anyway?"

He heard footsteps and saw Jan Di and Yi Jung appear.

"What happened?" Yi Jung asked, genuine concern in his voice. "Did you get hurt beating up some guys?"

Woo Bin wanted to hide in a hole somewhere. The girl's eyes widened and then she lowered her gaze.

Jan Di walked towards him and examined his leg. He flinched every time she touched it.

"We better get you to the hospital," she said after a while.

"Well, the good news is, it's right across the street!" Yi Jung declared, and if Woo Bin wasn't in so much pain he would have smacked him.

"Help me get him up." Jan Di called to Yi Jung. "Otherwise, we'll have to call an ambulance."

Jan Di and Yi Jung tried to lift him up. He was heavy, and they managed to take 5 steps before they had to pause and take a breath.

"Let's just grab a wheelchair from the hospital and wheel him back," Yi Jung suggested.

Woo Bin glared at him, but Jan Di actually considered his idea.

"I can help too," a small voice suggested from behind them.

Jan Di noticed Woo Bin look slightly abashed. She nodded at the girl and she walked towards them, sheepishly. She saw Woo Bin start to protest, but then he bit his lips and heaved a sigh.

The three of them helped Woo Bin wobble to the hospital. Jan Di noted that he was probably forcing himself to walk despite the pain, as he felt much lighter now than when she and Yi Jung were trying to carry him. She doubted that Hye Jin was carrying most of his weight.

She looked at the girl's name tag. "Hey, Hye Jin," she greeted, smiling. "I'm Geum Jan Di. Thank you for your help."

Hye Jin gave a quick nod. They got to the hospital and Jan Di ran to get Woo Bin into a stretcher.

"Tell me you broke your leg doing something cool," Yi Jung whispered to Woo Bin, as they wheeled him to the x-ray room.

...

Woo Bin sat on top of the hospital bed, his leg in a cast. Yi Jung had gone out to get him some food to eat. Hospital food was not cutting it for him. Jan Di came to check on him occasionally, and had told him he just had a small fracture on his crus (which, in simple terms, just meant his lower leg). In around 6-8 weeks, his leg should be healed completely.

He heard a soft knock on his door.

"Come in," he called, as he laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

He heard the sound of small footsteps and then silence.

He opened his eyes and saw Hye Jin standing there with a basket of oranges. She shifted uncomfortably as she stood.

"Hey," he called out, though he was still too embarrassed to engage her in a lengthy conversation.

"How are you feeling?" She handed him the basket of fruit.

"Stupid."

She arched an eyebrow.

"I'm feeling stupid," he clarified, fearing she might misunderstand his reply. "I thought those guys were going to attack you so I ran...to rescue you." He didn't know why he was telling her this. "Instead you ended up rescuing me."

"Oh." Her eyes went wide and then she looked at her feet. "Thank you."

"For what?" He eyed her curiously.

"For trying to rescue me."

He laughed. "I did a terrible job at that." He inclined his head to the side as he looked at her. "I'm Song Woo Bin, by the way."

"I know," she replied, unable to meet his gaze. She played with the hem of her shirt.

It was his turn to arch an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Do you remember," she began, but then Yi Jung appeared, holding two bags of Japanese takeout. Ga Eul walked in right behind him.

"Your savior is here!" Yi Jung announced, as he laid the bags on the hospital bed. He noticed Hye Jin standing there and uttered a quick "hey" in greeting. Hye Jin turned red and dashed out the door before Ga Eul could greet her.

"Who was that?" she asked, puzzled.

"That, my dear, is what crippled our fearsome protector here." Yi Jung started laying out the food on the table beside his bed.

"Yi Jung," Woo Bin pressed his lips into a thin line. "One day, someone's going to smack you. And I would very much like that person to be me."

Yi Jung smirked. "Luckily, today's not that day."

…

Jan Di almost ran into Hye Jin on her way to Woo Bin's room.

"Hey!" she called out, and Hye Jin stopped in her tracks just long enough to quickly dip her head.

"Wait!" Jan Di hurried after the small girl, who for being so tiny, could walk very fast.

Hye Jin went to a complete stop, but shifted uncomfortably.

"Did you just come to see Woo Bin sunbae?" Jan Di smiled, trying to put the girl at ease.

She nodded.

"How is he doing?"

"Good. His friends are there with him right now." She bit her lower lip.

Jan Di didn't want to scare her away. She bent down so she could be eye level with Hye Jin. "Did you want to go for a coffee?"

Then she scolded herself inside. _She works at a coffee house, you idiot!_

"I mean," she corrected herself, "a quick walk?"

Surprisingly, the girl nodded. They both walked in silence around the hospital until they came to an empty bench that faced the highway. She motioned for the girl to sit down and sat down beside her.

"So," she began, as she clasped her hands in front of her, "what school do you go to?"

Hye Jin lowered her head. "I just graduated."

"High school?"

"University."

"Oh. Cool! What did you take?"

"Engineering."

Jan Di pondered for a moment. So Hye Jin couldn't be that much younger than her. I mean, she herself hadn't even graduated yet! But then again, she was in medical school and graduation felt like light years away.

She was surprised when Hye Jin spoke again.

"I know what you're thinking," the girl went on, "If I graduated, why am I still working at the coffee house?"

Jan Di shook her head. "No, that's really none of my business."

"It's just temporary," Hye Jin continued, as if Jan Di never spoke. "I sent my resumes out and I've been on a few interviews but nothing solid so far." A wistful look appeared on her face. "I also want to travel. So I decided to work for now to save up." She shrugged. "It's better than sitting at home doing nothing, you know?"

"Yes," Jan Di nodded. "That's a good plan." She cocked her head to the side. "How do you know Woo Bin sunbae?"

Hye Jin looked away. "Last year, when I was in University, there was this really mean girl that kept picking on me." She looked down at her hands. "She kept calling me names, you know, because I'm so small. Sometimes I even thought about quitting school. One day, she humiliated me in front of the entire campus – I was sobbing hysterically while she..." She made a face of disgust. "She was laughing at me. Then all of a sudden Woo Bin sunbae shows up – turns out he was dating her and had come to pick her up. He walked in on her picking on me and he was so furious that he told her off. In front of everyone." She grinned. "And then he broke up with her, right then and there." She looked at the ground, her eyes dreamy. "It was the coolest thing I have ever seen."

She fell silent for a few seconds. "He probably doesn't remember me at all. But I will never forget him."

Jan Di remembered the time when she was in high school – when Woo Bin just stood by while Jun Pyo and the other students picked on her. But now he was out defending others. She felt pleased that Woo Bin and the others had changed and became better people. She glanced at Hye Jin, and the girl still had that dreamy look in her eyes.

It was the longest the girl had ever spoken, and she was glad she took the time to get to know her.

 _I think someone's got a crush on Woo Bin_ , she thought, happily. _This should be interesting._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What in the world is that?"

Woo Bin pointed to the scooter that Jan Di was wheeling into his room.

"It's called a knee scooter," Jan Di explained, while Woo Bin looked on in horror. "It's got a knee pad and wheels so you can place your knee on the pad and roll yourself forward." She demonstrated it for him. "You need to use the handle bars to balance and steer. There's also a brake so it doesn't roll away from you. You can even put a basket for your cell phone and a cup holder for your drinks."

Woo Bin shook his head adamantly. "Oh no, no no no. There is no way on earth I am using that!"

Jan Di placed her hands on her hips. "You can't put weight on your leg. Would you rather use crutches?"

Woo Bin nodded. "Yes. Yes, I would rather use crutches."

She frowned at him. "But this is more convenient."

He shook his head again. "Yi Jung would never let me live it down if he saw me on one of those."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You guys are grown-ups now. I'm sure he won't make fun of you."

Woo Bin gave her an Are-You-Kidding-Me look. "Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?"

She had to admit, he was right.

"You'll be getting discharged here sometime today. We just have to finish up some paperwork."

Woo Bin nodded.

"So," Jan Di pretended to be busy adjusting the scooter height. "Did Hye Jin come see you today?"

He furrowed his brows. "Not that I know of." He eyed her questioningly. "Is she supposed to?"

"Does she look familiar to you?" She studied his face for any signs of recollection.

He tapped his chin for a minute, then his eyes widened.

"Wait..." he began, as Jan Di sat eagerly beside him. "She's not one of those girls that I dated once and then never called again, is she?" He scratched his head. "Even though I don't remember dating anyone that short before."

Jan Di sighed heavily. "Forget it." She pushed the scooter in front of him. "Try this anyway, you might like it."

Woo Bin crossed his arms and pouted. "Doubt it."

She had her hand on the doorknob and was about to step out of his room when she decided to turn around to look at him again. "I think Hye Jin's pretty cute, by the way."

Woo Bin grinned. "For the record, I never said she wasn't."

...

Jan Di was busy finishing up at the clinic when she felt her phone vibrate, indicating she had a text message. She glanced at it, hoping it was Ji Hoo, but she didn't recognize the number. It looked like an international number.

She opened the message.

" _Hey Jan Di, it's Lee Min Young."_

Lee Min Young was one of her classmates last year in University. She moved to California at the beginning of the year to continue her studies there.

" _I didn't know you and Ji_ _Hoo_ _broke up. Sorry to hear!"_

Jan Di's knees buckled and she had to sit down.

 _What?_

She texted the girl back. " _What do you mean?"_

She dreaded reading the reply.

" _I saw him earlier in Rodeo Drive here in L.A. Let me send you a picture_."

Jan Di tried to calm herself down before she opened the image that arrived next.

It was a picture of Ji Hoo - her handsome Ji Hoo – and he had a huge smile on his face. He was hugging a girl who, even though Jan Di could only see the back of her head, she knew had to be beautiful. The girl's back was facing the camera, and Jan Di could see her beautifully long, wavy hair. She wore a huge black hat like the one you'd see on British royalties on tv. She wore a cute, sleeveless little black dress and had a huge designer purse on her arm.

Ji Hoo looked happy. No, he looked relieved.

Jan Di couldn't stop trembling. Was he relieved to be away from her? Is this why he lied to her? He was in California?

A tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away, angrily.

 _No_ , her mind protested. _Ji_ _Hoo_ _would never do that to you._ _He is not like that_.

She tried convincing herself but failed miserably.

Her phone buzzed again as another picture came in. She debated opening it for a few minutes.

It was Ji Hoo and the girl again. This time, they were both facing the camera. Ji Hoo was beside the girl, and his hands held a few designer store shopping bags.

 _He went shopping with her?_

She enlarged the picture and peered closely at the girl beside Ji Hoo. She wore huge, dark sunglasses and she was turned towards Ji Hoo in the picture. Both of them looked like they were laughing together at something.

She thought the girl looked familiar – perhaps she had seen her on television. She normally didn't watch tv, but sometimes she saw Hollywood celebrities on the news.

 _Is he out with a celebrity?_

It was hard to tell from the picture. Between the girl's hat and her sunglasses, and the fact that her face was half turned towards Ji Hoo, it was almost impossible to know who it was for sure. But she was convinced she had seen the girl on tv before.

One thing she was sure of, though – they looked good together. The girl was beautiful, rich, and based on Ji Hoo's smile as he looked at her, must also have a good personality. She knew Ji Hoo didn't warm up to someone that easily. They looked like a perfect match.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, however much she tried to dismiss it.

 _I have nothing to offer him,_ she thought, mournfully. _He's smart, rich, talented, good looking, and a completely wonderful human being. And what do I have?_

Jan Di covered her face with her hands and started sobbing quietly.

But Ji Hoo had never given her cause to be jealous before. She had always felt secure in their relationship.

 _There has to be an explanation. There has to be._ She kept telling herself between sobs.

…

"Ga Eul."

Jan Di felt so downcast, she couldn't even get up from bed the next day. Her face was half buried in her pillow. It was already past noon, but she couldn't find the energy to move.

Ga Eul stood beside her bed, arms crossed. "You sound like the world's ending."

 _Mine is._ She thought, miserably.

"Come on," Ga Eul urged. "Get up. Let's get you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

Ga Eul pulled one of her arms and she reluctantly sat up. Her hair (which was now 4-5 inches past her shoulders) looked like a bird decided to make a nest of it, but she didn't care.

"What's wrong?" Ga Eul lifted her chin up and her eyes were filled with worry.

"Have you ever...felt insecure of yourself?"

Ga Eul looked quizzically at her. "In what way?"

"You know, knowing that there are tons of girls out there that are prettier, smarter and richer than you?" She glanced at the mirror across the wall and saw that her eyes were still puffy from all the crying she did the night before. She had tried calling Ji Hoo, of course, but he didn't pick up, which distressed her even more. (He did send her a message early that morning, though.)

Ga Eul sat down beside her. "Sometimes." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "But you know, there's no other feeling in the world like knowing that he could be with any other girl in the entire world but he chose to be with you."

Jan Di just sat there with her head in her hands. A single thought kept nagging at her.

 _There has to be an explanation._

But she couldn't think of any at the moment and doubts consumed her whole being.

"What's this about?" Ga Eul grabbed her hairbrush and started brushing her hair. She winced as Ga Eul worked through the knots in her hair.

"I just...don't feel very...secure of myself lately," Jan Di stammered out.

Ga Eul sighed. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. We can discuss it more then."

Jan Di forced herself to get dressed and was almost out the door when she ran into Kang San.

Kang San's eyes widened when he saw her. "What's the matter?" He teased his older sister. "You look like Ji Hoo finally woke up and realized he's too good for you!" He chuckled when he said this, not realizing he had said exactly what she was thinking.

Jan Di's shoulders slouched and she fought back tears. Kang San noticed her expression and held his hands up.

"Hey, I was just kidding! I'm sorry!"

Before he could say any more, Ga Eul escorted her out the door.

...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Woo Bin's little 'accident' caused some minor delay in planning Yi Jung's grand proposal. (This was what he had named their project: The Grand Proposal).

They sat at the coffee house again one night; Woo Bin's leg in a cast, Jan Di feeling down in the dumps. Ji Hoo had tried calling her earlier that day but she was busy helping her mother make kimchi so she missed his call. She had no idea how to talk to him about the picture anyway. She was terrified that if she brought it up her worst fears would be confirmed. She decided that she would ask him about it when he got back – so they could talk face-to-face about what it meant and where they stood in their relationship. Ji Hoo had sounded pretty normal during their last few conversations on the phone – either he was feigning ignorance or he really had no clue. It confounded her even more.

Only Yi Jung was in bright spirits.

"Hey, how come we always meet at this coffee house?" Yi Jung stated, his voice low enough for just the three of them to hear. "I mean, I know Jan Di works just across from here but she doesn't even have work today."

Woo Bin gave him a knowing grin. "I like the coffee here."

"I found one that serves better coffee," Yi Jung declared. "It's near Gangnam. They have this type of coffee called cat-poop coffee." Jan Di wrinkled her nose as Yi Jung continued. "Apparently, they get cats to eat the beans and then they poop it out and they turn it into coffee. It's the most expensive coffee in the world."

Woo Bin gaped at him. "Umm...you can keep your cat-poop coffee to yourself." He had his leg stretched out on the knee scooter. She had brought it to the coffee house for him, despite his protests. "I'll drink my poor-people coffee."

(Thankfully, Yi Jung was too focused on his "Grand Proposal" to notice or comment on the scooter.)

"So, I went and found a place," Yi Jung went on, as he spread a map on the table. He pointed to a place to the south of Seoul. "It's an exclusive golf course with the most breathtaking view of the ocean. Not that we'll see it because we'll be doing this at night. I already spoke to them and they'll have the central gazebo there all decked out for us."

Jan Di tried her best to be excited. This was for her best friend Ga Eul, after all. She clapped him on the back. "Great job! Did you set the date yet?"

Yi Jung frowned. "I need Ji Hoo there. He's kind of my lead musician. Are you sure he's back this Thursday?"

At the mention of Ji Hoo, Jan Di's spirits plummeted again. "That's what he said."

She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Then I'll set it for Saturday," Yi Jung decided. He elbowed Woo Bin. "You've been practicing your part, haven't you?"

Woo Bin smirked. "I don't need to practice that much."

Hye Jin appeared at their table carrying a tray with three cups of coffee. She set it down in front of each of them. She paused in front of Woo Bin and gave him a shy smile, then she went back to the counter.

"Hey, how come you've got way more foam on yours than mine?" Yi Jung compared the two cups.

"Why are you complaining?" Woo Bin smiled smugly as he sipped his coffee. "Don't you prefer cat-poop?"

"Cat-poop _coffee_ ," Yi Jung corrected. "Don't knock it till you try it."

"Yi Jung, I will always, always, knock it." Woo Bin jeered at him.

Yi Jung ignored him and turned to face her. "I'll need you to distract Ga Eul until it's time okay? We'll have all the lights out except for some tiki torches to light the path and then when she's at the center we'll start playing the song and after the song we'll turn all the lights on." He wrote down some notes on a piece of paper. "That's when I'll walk towards her and present her with the rings." He scribbled down some more. "Oh, we'll have the whole place decorated with thousands of roses." He looked at her again. "I'll need you to walk with her to the center and wait with her until we finish our song so she doesn't suspect anything, okay?"

She nodded. Ga Eul was right. Yi Jung could be so sweet when he wants to be.

"You really think she'll say yes?" Yi Jung asked her hopefully. She had never seen him so nervous before.

"Definitely."

…

Jan Di tried not to think too much about what was happening in her own love life and instead focus on helping Ga Eul unknowingly prepare for Yi Jung's Grand Proposal.

He had booked both of them for an all-day pampering at an exclusive spa that Jan Di thought only the uber rich visited. She sat there, feeling a little more relaxed, while the esthetician massaged her feet.

She and Ga Eul both had cucumber slices spread out all over their faces.

"Hey, isn't Ji Hoo sunbae coming back later tonight?"

She nodded. He just called her early that morning and she tried to sound as normal as possible on the phone with him, even though deep inside she was so tormented by negative thoughts she thought she would lose her mind. She asked him if he wanted her to go to the airport with Mr. Gil to pick him up, but he politely declined her offer and told her he would see her tomorrow. She'd been so high strung all morning her family walked on egg shells so as not to set her off.

But she decided today was Ga Eul's day. And she was going to enjoy it even if it killed her.

They had facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, a body scrub, a full body massage, and a foot detox. She felt as though 20 pounds of dirt had been lifted off her body. She didn't want to think how much this must have cost Yi Jung.

They were now sitting at the spa salon getting their hair trimmed. Yi Jung had also booked them to get their hair and makeup done on Saturday before the big event.

"I don't know what possessed Yi Jung to send us here, but I hope it possesses him again!" Ga Eul giggled, and Jan Di couldn't help but giggle with her.

 _Oh, if only you knew_ , she smiled as she thought of what they had planned for her on Saturday.

"And what's up on Saturday?" Ga Eul's question interrupted her thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"We're going somewhere fancy for a date. I mean, you know, uber fancy." Ga Eul eyed her suspiciously. "Do you know why?"

Jan Di shook her head, trying to think of a reason that Ga Eul would believe. "Well, they're rich. It's not like it's the first time they've done something extravagant for a date."

"Yes, but we're even going outside the city!" Ga Eul was still unconvinced. "And they've booked all of us rooms at the golf club for an overnight stay." She wrinkled her nose. "They're up to something."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find out Saturday," Jan Di replied, trying to look unconcerned. "Let's just enjoy ourselves until then."

A slow smile spread on her friend's face. "Okay. Let's just enjoy the moment."

...

"Jan Di," Ji Hoo's voice sounded so far away from her. "My flight's delayed in Vancouver."

"How long?"

"They're saying at least 8 hours but I'm trying to see if I can hop on to another flight."

Jan Di looked at her watch. Ji Hoo would barely have a day to rest after his international flight before the big event.

"Okay. Be careful." She croaked out, a lump stuck in her throat. Doubts aside, she had missed him terribly and was looking forward to seeing him. She hoped that once she saw him, he would explain everything and all would be good again. _I have to trust him. I need to trust him._

"Tell Yi Jung I'll be there on time." She heard him sigh. "Even if I have to fly a plane myself."

…

"What do you mean there was a small fire at the golf club?" Jan Di stared at Yi Jung in disbelief. Things were not going according to their plan. It was Friday night, and she was at the coffee house with Woo Bin and Yi Jung again. She had just finished her shift, and was still wearing her white doctor's coat. She looked around for Hye Jin, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

 _Must be her day off_ , she thought, a little disappointed.

"They called me this morning to break out the bad news." Yi Jung said, glumly.

Woo Bin was deep in thought, then his face brightened. "Hey, I know a place we can go to!" He scrolled through his phone for an address. "There's this amazing little garden just a 40-minute drive from the city."

"Is it available?" Jan Di asked, wishfully.

"They close at 6 pm, but I know the owner - he's a pretty cool guy, so we should have no issues moving the event there. There won't be anyone there after 6." Woo Bin dialed a number. After a few minutes, he grinned.

"We're good to go."

"But what about all our set-up and plan?" Jan Di reminded them.

"Yi Jung's going to send them the plans and they'll get it all set up." Woo Bin answered, confidently.

Yi Jung had stepped outside the coffee house and was busy talking on the phone.

"By tomorrow?" Jan Di couldn't believe the boys could pull it off.

Woo Bin grinned widely. "Have you no faith in us? Are you forgetting who we are?"

Jan Di pursed her lips. _I guess money can make anything happen._

…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **THE BIG DAY**

Jan Di and Ga Eul spent the better part of the day getting pampered again. They had at least 2 attendants each doing their hair and make-up.

A boutique delivered two exquisitely wrapped boxes containing their dresses that morning. Jan Di was quite astonished at the lengths Yi Jung had gone through.

Ga Eul stood there wearing a floor-length, flowing, strapless yellow dress, her hair partially pinned up. Wisps of her hair fell playfully to frame her face.

"I feel like Cinderella," Ga Eul proclaimed, as she twirled around to appraise herself in the mirror.

"You look beautiful," she complimented, and Ga Eul did indeed look beautiful. Her makeup was subtle but highlighted her soft and delicate beauty.

"Look who's talking." It was Ga Eul's turn to admire her.

Jan Di also wore a long dress – it was a floral chiffon halter dress with soft pleats and a beaded belt. Her hair had huge curls that cascaded down her back (she had grown out her bangs and pinned it to the side) and she wore the two-inch-long diamond earrings that Ji Hoo had given her a few months ago. She felt quite tall in her outfit.

The make-up artist had also done an impressive job on her. Jan Di barely recognized herself in the mirror. She didn't know she could look that good. Her make-up looked natural, yet it brought out her best features – her eyes and her cheekbones.

A limo pulled up in front of the salon to pick them up. Jan Di and Ga Eul got in excitedly.

It was dark by the time they got there. Jan Di kept glancing at her cell phone to confirm that everything was ready before she brought Ga Eul out. Yi Jung was relying on her to bring her friend out in time for the surprise.

She thought of Ji Hoo, and her heart gave an excited little thump. He had called her earlier to tell her he had arrived with the boys and they were busy setting up. She blushed as she thought of what he would think when he saw her again after 2 weeks apart. She was glad she was all dolled up for today. No matter what turmoil haunted her thoughts lately, she still wanted to impress him. She knew she looked stunning, and a part of her hoped that maybe, just maybe, she'd actually be good enough for Ji Hoo now.

"Why is it so dark here?" Ga Eul asked, looking around.

There was a narrow path made of wooden planks, with a pond on each side. A few tiki torches lined up the path, but the light it gave was just enough to light their way. The path led to the center of the garden, where a huge gazebo stood.

A grand piano stood to the left of the gazebo, and she saw Woo Bin standing beside the piano (his left leg was resting on the knee scooter) with Yi Jung right beside him, both with guitars slung on their shoulders and each had a microphone stand in front of them.

 _This is it,_ she thought, excitedly. She couldn't see Ji Hoo as the massive piano blocked him from view.  
But she knew he was there because she caught a glimpse of his copper colored head.

She escorted Ga Eul to the center of the garden carefully, making sure they didn't fall into the pond. They both stood in silent anticipation in front of the gazebo. Ga Eul's eyes were wide with astonishment.

A dim spotlight turned on and focused on the boys. Jan Di could see Yi Jung's nervous face and she couldn't help but smile.

And then Ji Hoo started to play the piano.

Jan Di felt mesmerized by the song – the lyrics conveyed absolute love and devotion, and the melody was so hauntingly romantic she almost wished it was directed at her instead. As per Yi Jung's request, Ji Hoo sang most of it - with Yi Jung and Woo Bin mostly joining in the chorus. But all three sang it so passionately and so beautifully that Jan Di felt goose bumps appear all over her body.

She was thoroughly impressed at Yi Jung's writing skills.

This was how their song went:

" _Do you know that from the moment I first saw you_

 _I knew that it was you_

 _Let's walk together on the road in front of us_

 _A beautiful day is spread out in front of us_

 _I WANNA BE WITH YOU MY LOVE_

 _I promise you under the sky_

 _I will protect you for eternity_

 _I WANNA LOVE YOU FOREVER_

 _Can you see my heart_

 _Breathe by my side_

 _I love you for eternity_

 _I love you_

 _Do you know that you are my happiness?_

 _I will confess_

 _You are my love forever_

 _Stay by my side_

 _I WANNA BE WITH YOU MY LOVE_

 _I promise you under the sky_

 _I will protect you for eternity_

 _I WANNA LOVE YOU FOREVER_

 _Can you see my heart_

 _Breathe by my side_

 _I love you for eternity_

 _I love you_

 _Any challenge that comes our way_

 _Let's overcome it with our love_

 _Please look at me for eternity_

 _Please hold me for eternity_

 _Love me for eternity_

 _So that we will be happy_

 _As I look at only you for eternity_

 _I pray that we will be happy_

 _I WANNA BE WITH YOU MY LOVE_

 _I promise you under the sky_

 _I will protect you for eternity_

 _For eternity_

 _I WANNA LOVE YOU FOREVER_

 _I hope that our love will be happy_

 _Let's create it ourselves_

 _The beautiful days_

 _I love you_

 _For eternity"_

She stood there, smiling like an idiot, until the song ended. She felt ashamed when she realized she became too focused on watching and listening to the song she had forgotten to check on Ga Eul.

She turned around to find Ga Eul standing a few feet away from her.

She was alone in the center.

Ji Hoo stood up and started walking towards her. The spotlight brightened, and all the lights around her turned on.

She looked around in wonder. For the first time, she noticed the ponds that surrounded them.

Hundreds of lotus flowers in full bloom floated across the ponds. There were pink, white, yellow and purple blossoms of varying sizes scattered all over the ponds around them. It was breathtaking to behold.

Jan Di clapped a hand on her mouth as she turned around, getting more and more confused by the minute.

It was then that she noticed that Woo Bin and Yi Jung were wearing matching grey suits with black ties, and Ji Hoo...

He was dressed all in white.

Her knees felt wobbly as he stood in front of her. He had a sheepish grin on his face.

He knelt down in front of her, put a hand in his coat pocket, and took out a small box. He opened it and presented her with the rings.

They were the exact same rings she had chosen.

And that's when it hit her.

All this, everything around her – was an elaborate set up for her.

It was for Ji Hoo's grand proposal, not Yi Jung's.

She saw Woo Bin, Yi Jung and Ga Eul standing side by side, huge grins on their faces, looking proud of themselves for having pulled this off.

And then she began to cry.

...

 _(*Author's Note: The name of the song above is "Until Forever" by SS501. English Lyric translation credit goes to KookieCane13. If you like this story at all, pause for 5 minutes and go to YouTube and listen to the song above. Search for "Until Forever" by SS501. Play the one by KookieCane13. It's a really sweet song, perfect for this story. You won't regret it!)_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ji Hoo's smile disappeared from his face and he stood up, his face filled with worry.

"Jan Di?"

She cried softly, unable to contain her emotions any longer.

All this time, she thought...

"You know, this scene played out way differently than I imagined," she heard Woo Bin say, as he scratched his chin.

"I told you _you_ needed more practice!" Yi Jung hissed.

"Hey, you're the one that was out of tune!" Woo Bin snapped.

Ji Hoo turned to glare at both of them, and they both fell silent.

"Jan Di, what's wrong?" Ji Hoo asked again, as he pulled her into his arms. He pulled out a handkerchief and carefully dabbed away the tears from her cheeks.

She swallowed hard.

"I thought you were going to leave me," she whispered, hoping only he could hear her. "I thought you found someone better."

Ji Hoo arched an eyebrow. He held her by the shoulders and peered closely to examine her eyes.

"Jan Di," he said, forehead creased. "Have you been drinking?"

She couldn't help but laugh. She looked around.

"So all this...was for us?"

"It took you longer than I thought to figure it out," Yi Jung observed. "I thought for sure the moment Ji Hoo started singing you'd clue in." He leaned over to whisper to Ga Eul. "I thought doctors were supposed to be smart."

Woo Bin took one of his crutches and smacked him on the shin.

She heard Yi Jung give a loud yelp as Woo Bin chuckled. "Hey, how about that? I do like crutches better!"

…

"So, what did you think? We make a pretty good boy band huh?" Yi Jung was all smiles, as the five of them sat around a table in the gazebo.

"I can't believe you guys did all this for us." Jan Di gave a thankful smile at each of them. "I never even thought…"

"We got you good, huh?" Yi Jung looked extremely pleased with himself. "After all, I _am_ a pretty good actor." He seemed thoughtful for a minute. "Maybe I _should_ be an actor. I'm handsome, smart, rich, talented…"

"Don't forget humble," Woo Bin interrupted.

"Ah yes, humble too," Yi Jung continued.

Woo Bin just gave an exasperated sigh. "You're hopeless." He turned to face Ga Eul. "Geez, what do you see in this guy?"

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "He has his moments."

"I bet those are few and far between," Woo Bin murmured.

Jan Di narrowed her eyes at Yi Jung. "Did you really write that song?"

Yi Jung snorted. "What do you think?"

She looked at Ji Hoo, who was holding her hand. "You wrote it, didn't you?"

He dipped his head in answer. She was in awe. "When did you start planning this?"

"Around a month ago?"

She heaved the biggest sigh of relief she had ever released. All her worries and fears about their relationship dissipated in the air. _I shouldn't have worried myself so much_. She wanted to ask Ji Hoo what happened abroad, but she decided to hold it off until it was just the two of them.

"Did you know about this?" She directed her question at Ga Eul.

"Yi Jung just told me this morning," Ga Eul replied. "He didn't want me to know sooner so my reaction would be 'natural'." She made an air quote as she said the last word.

Jan Di had to agree. It made sense. A thought popped into her head and she whipped around to face Woo Bin.

"Wait, did you set the golf club on fire so you could move the venue here?"

Woo Bin pretended to look hurt. "Hey, what do you think I am? A crook?"

"No, no. I just..." She turned away, embarrassed.

"There _was_ a small fire," Yi Jung stated. Then he grinned. "A bon fire. They have it there all the time." He looked around admiringly. "Semiwon Garden was always where we planned it to be." He pointed at Ji Hoo. "Well, where he's always planned it to be." He made a sweeping gesture with his arm over the ponds around them. "His lotus paradise."

It was true. Semiwon Garden was a botanical garden solely focused on lotus flowers. It wasn't small either – it was a massive garden. A real lotus paradise. Jan Di had heard of it before, but had never been there...until now.

She shook her head. "I can't believe you guys managed to secure this place."

"Woo Bin owns this," Ji Hoo stated casually. Woo Bin just gave a nonchalant shrug.

 _So_ _when he said he knew the owner._..

Woo Bin looked pleased with himself. "I told you the owner was a pretty cool guy."

...

Jan Di gave Ji Hoo's hand a gentle squeeze. She thought of him planning all this despite his busy schedule and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.

Then she realized he never actually got to propose and her eyes went wide in panic.

"What's wrong?" Ji Hoo leaned closer to her.

"Can we go for a walk? I need to talk to you." She whispered in his ear.

Ji Hoo nodded and the two of them stood up and started walking towards the ponds.

"I'm sorry I ruined your proposal," she walked holding his hand. Her eyes caught sight of something odd floating on the pond.

 _What is that?_ She thought.

It looked like a shoe. A man's dress shoe. She looked around and there was only the one shoe. _How odd. Why would there be a shoe here?_

"I guess I got a little ahead of myself." Ji Hoo looked at her apologetically. "I didn't want to pressure you. I guess you weren't ready."

She shook her head quickly. "No, it's not that." Then she cocked her head to the side and eyed him questioningly. "Whatever happened to waiting until your residency was over?"

He raised his shoulders slightly. "I got impatient." He stepped in front of her, took both her hands in his, and looked down at the ground. "I know we said we'd wait, but I just couldn't do it anymore." He looked up and gazed intently into her eyes. "I want to look forward to coming home from a long day of work knowing you're there waiting for me." His lips curled into a playful smile. "I want to wake up at 3am, roll over, see your face, and know that I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

Jan Di's cheeks reddened, but she managed a shy smile. Then she remembered another part of their reason to wait. She debated asking him about it for a few minutes.

"What about Jun Pyo?"

Ji Hoo had told her he wanted to make amends with his friend.

Ji Hoo's face turned pensive. "I went to see him," he began, and Jan Di's eyes widened in shock. "It was the main reason I went abroad." He ran a hand through his hair. "I had to chase him around the States, but I eventually caught up to him."

Ji Hoo's confession rendered her speechless.

 _I knew there was an explanation_. _It just never crossed my mind it would be this._

And then he told her everything. Everything that happened to him while he was in Canada and the United States. Jan Di couldn't help but feel sorry for all that Ji Hoo went through.

For her.

For them.

"I tried my best, Jan Di," he explained, and she could feel the pain in his voice. "I went to talk to him. It took longer than I thought..." He sighed, wearily. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep either promise."

Jan Di wrapped her arms around him.

She understood. She knew the consequences of choosing Ji Hoo.

"He doesn't hate us if that's what you're worried about," Ji Hoo continued. "He just needs more time."

Ji Hoo was lost in thought for a few minutes. Then he met her eyes.

"Jan Di," Ji Hoo's face was solemn. "If you had to go back and choose again...would you still choose me?"

Jan Di was taken aback by his question.

She thought about the moment she realized she loved Ji Hoo.

How truly happy she'd been since they got together.

All his sacrifices, his unending patience, his unconditional love.

She put a hand on his cheek and stroked it tenderly.

"I chose you. And I'll choose you, over and over, without pause, without doubt, in a heartbeat. I'll keep choosing you."

Ji Hoo sighed and she saw relief flood his entire body. After a couple of minutes, a sly grin spread across his face.

"Oh, I also spoke to your parents this morning and asked for their blessing," Ji Hoo disclosed.

"What did they say?"

"Your father took me aside for a man-to-man talk."

Jan Di's father had come back to the city to be with them after a few years on the fishing boat. Her parents had managed to reopen their dry-cleaning business, and are now busier than ever. Ji Hoo promised her Madam Kang wouldn't be able to touch their home or business again. Jan Di often wondered if Ji Hoo had bought their entire building.

"What about umma?" She asked, her head tilted to the side.

Ji Hoo's face broke into a grin. "She was...happy for us."

He remembered sitting down in front of Jan Di's parents and asking them if he could marry their daughter. Her mother jumped up and down excitedly screaming:

"Finally! It's about time! You guys took long enough!" and wouldn't stop hugging him and kissing his cheeks, much to the embarrassment of her husband.

Jan Di was amazed at how much planning and preparation Ji Hoo had gone through for her.

She stared at him, her eyes scanning every inch of his face – that soft, beautiful, baby face that she loved so much. _He never ceases to amaze me..._

"Yes," she whispered, and Ji Hoo wrinkled his forehead, unsure of what she meant.

She took the box from his coat pocket, took his ring out, and placed it carefully onto his ring finger.

He smiled crookedly as he took her hand and placed her engagement ring onto her ring finger. She looked admiringly at the two rings that now graced her finger.

After a few minutes of silence, she bit her lower lip and knitted her brow. "Are you sure you want to marry me though?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I don't really have anything to offer you." She smiled shyly at him. "You've got the money, the looks, the brains, the talent..." Then she frowned. "What if one day you find someone better than me? Someone perfect?"

He shook his head. "There will always be someone better than us..." he began, as Jan Di stuck her lower lip out. "But none of that matters to me. I'm not looking for someone perfect, but someone _who's perfect for me_."

"The only thing I can offer you is my love," she whispered.

"That is the only thing I need," he answered.

He paused and seemed to reassess his answer. "That and your cooking skills."

She laughed out loud. Then she faced him and turned serious once more. She remembered Yi Jung's words a few weeks ago – how loving someone was a risk, since people never knew how long they'd last.

"Are you sure you're ready to risk everything for me?"

Ji Hoo placed both palms gingerly on her cheeks and touched his forehead lightly on to hers. His lips were mere inches away from hers.

"Jan Di..." His voice was so gentle and so full of longing it sent electric currents all over her body. He brushed his soft lips lightly against hers.

She closed her eyes as she heard him whisper:

" _You_ are the risk I will always take."

...


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 _ **(Ji**_ _ **Hoo's**_ _ **Story)**_

 **Five Weeks Earlier...**

Yi Jung and Ji Hoo sat at the Italian restaurant sipping their glasses of wine. The girls had gone to the bathroom.

"You look exhausted, man," Yi Jung observed. "I think your eye bags _have_ eye bags. Has Jan Di been stressing you out lately?"

Ji Hoo gave a hollow laugh. "We haven't really had a lot of time together lately."

"Things are hard, huh?"

Ji Hoo took a sip of his wine. "Yeah, I don't know how much longer I can do this, Yi Jung."

He sighed wearily, and then closed his eyes. "I can't live without her, so I want to ask her to marry me. But I need to go see Jun Pyo first. I have to talk to him." He faced Yi Jung. "You can't tell Jan Di about any of this though, okay?"

"Jan Di is going to freak out. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I have to do it, Yi Jung." He pinched the bridge of his nose. His head ached something fierce. He lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "I don't want to disappoint her in case it goes nowhere with Jun Pyo. But I'm going to try anyway."

Before he could say anymore, the girls arrived at their table. The waitress brought out their dessert right then, and all of them ate it quietly. Jan Di seemed to be intensely focused on eating her dessert, and he stared at her, bemused.

 _Maybe she just really, really liked Panna Cotta?_

…

Ji Hoo thought long and hard of a convincing-enough reason he could give Jan Di on why he had to go to Canada. He knew Jun Pyo was in New York, but if Jan Di found out he was going to New York, she would know for sure why. So he decided he could pretend he was going to Canada first. After all, he had talked about Canada a few times with her already.

He knew she would want to go, but since Canada was just a decoy, he couldn't bring her along. Besides, this was something he had to do by himself. He had to face his friend alone. If Jun Pyo was still angry, he would face his wrath and the consequences of it all by himself. (He also didn't think Jun Pyo would be too happy to see him and Jan Di appear in New York together).

He was flipping through the tv channels one day when a hockey game caught his eye.

 _Of course_ , he thought. _I could pretend I'm going there to buy a hockey team._

Jan Di would never suspect anything. After all, he already owned two sports teams.

 _Actually, I wouldn't mind owning a hockey team._

He liked the game, and he knew Canadians love their hockey so it wouldn't be a losing venture.

He went through his list of business contacts in Canada and dialed a number.

Jan Di did not seem pleased at all that he was leaving her behind. He could see how disappointed she was, and when he promised her he'd bring her next time, he saw tears in the corner of her eyes.

He almost broke down then and tossed away his plans. He tried to keep his resolve and pulled her into his arms.

 _I'm doing this for us_ , he wanted to tell her. _There will never be a day when I won't think of you._

Instead, he said: "I love you. Always. Don't ever forget that."

 _It's only a week,_ he thought, as he held her tight. _I'll be back as soon as I can._

Ji Hoo had a very aggressive schedule during his one-week trip to Canada and the United States. He was flying in and out of Canada so Jan Di wouldn't suspect anything, but that meant a lot of flying for him in a week.

He sat in First Class on an Air Canada plane heading to Vancouver first, then onto Calgary. His seat turned into a bed of some type, so he decided to lie down and tried to get some sleep. He popped some melatonin pills into his mouth and closed his eyes. It would take him at least 14 hours from Seoul to Vancouver, then another hour flight from Vancouver to Calgary, not including airport waiting times. The time difference meant he would arrive in Calgary the same day that he left Korea.

He knew his body was in for a rough week.

He thought of Jan Di waiting for him when he got back, and pulled some strength and comfort from it.

He arrived in Calgary shortly after 6pm that day, and a limo picked him up from the airport to his hotel located in downtown Calgary. It was close to the Saddledome, which was where the Calgary Flames (the city's national hockey team) played. He had a meeting with their General Manager at 2pm the next day.

He collapsed on the king-sized bed of his room as soon as the door closed. Exhaustion took hold of him and he slept soundly.

He woke up around noon the next day, feeling a little refreshed. After calling for room service, he called Jan Di, got dressed, and then went to his meeting.

The meeting with the hockey team and their managers went well. Ji Hoo seriously considered buying the team. Perhaps he could discuss it with Jan Di in detail when he got back to Korea.

His phone rang.

"How's Canada?" Yi Jung's voice sounded excited.

"Good. Full of Canadians." He was looking through brochures of the city. His flight to New York left in the early afternoon the next day, and he only had a one-hour appointment close to his hotel in the morning. "How's the planning going?"

He had told Yi Jung and Woo Bin of his plan to propose, of course. Yi Jung had graciously volunteered to be in charge of the entire thing. Ji Hoo had been thinking of it for a while and had all the details mapped out – but Yi Jung was in charge to make sure everything went according to plan. Woo Bin owned the perfect location for the proposal, much to his delight.

"Great!" Yi Jung grinned. "Jan Di does not suspect anything." A pause. "She's actually pretty clueless most of the time anyway."

"Watch it," he warned, but he was smiling. He looked at the time. "So, is Woo Bin there?"

"Uh huh."

"Let's do the video call so we can practice."

Yi Jung groaned, but a few minutes later, his face appeared on Ji Hoo's phone.

He took his guitar from its case and started playing. He only brought two things with him on his trip – a small suitcase and his guitar.

Yi Jung and Woo Bin strummed their guitars in unison. They practiced for around an hour, until he was satisfied that they all got it right. (He had given them a copy of the song before he left.)

"I can't believe you wrote this, man," Woo Bin shook his head in awe. "How long did this take you?"

"Believe it or not, it wasn't that bad," he replied, candidly.

It took him two straight weeks of at least an hour a day of writing. When he thought of Jan Di, the words seemed to just write themselves. It was the melody that took most of his time. He gave his friends a grateful bow. "Thanks for doing this for me, guys."

"Hey, what are brothers for?" Woo Bin grinned.

"Yeah, just remember this when it's our turn to propose ok?" Yi Jung reminded him. "I would want you to write me a song that would make Elton John cry."

Woo Bin gave Yi Jung an alarmed look. "Are you proposing to Elton John? Man, Ga Eul would be _so_ pissed when she finds out!"

Yi Jung glowered at Woo Bin, who was howling with laughter.

Ji Hoo realized he missed his friends terribly.

...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Come in," the doctor said, as Ji Hoo entered the tiny but clean clinic.

He sat down and looked around the clinic. On one side of the wall hung many of the doctor's certifications and accomplishments. When he was doing his research, he had specifically sought the one with the best success record in the industry. His name was Dr. Taylor and he was an orthopedic surgeon, presumably one of the best in his field. (It was the main reason he picked Calgary instead of the other major cities in Canada). Ji Hoo was a doctor himself, so he knew what to look out for – and could tell when someone was an expert or not. After only a few minutes of talking to Dr. Taylor, he knew he was the real deal. It gave him renewed hope.

"I reviewed the reports you sent and based on the preliminary findings, I think your friend's going to need surgery." The doctor was flipping through a chart.

"My girlfriend," he corrected. _Or future wife_ , he thought.

"We need to do a physical exam and possibly some imaging tests to be sure, of course."

He nodded.

The doctor spread out a leaflet in front of him.

"Here are the different types of surgeries that are available. She'll also need some physical therapy after to help with the healing process."

He scanned the leaflet over quickly, absorbing each detail that the doctor laid out. "What are the chances of success?"

"Quite high, considering she's still young," the doctor replied. "Once she hits her 30s though, it may be be a little harder for the muscles to heal." The doctor examined his face. "It will be quite an expensive procedure – from start to finish."

He smiled at the doctor. "Money is no object."

The doctor's eyes widened, but he recovered quickly and simply gave a quick nod.

He looked at the doctor, eyes full of hope. "You really think she'll be able to swim after?"

The doctor smiled at him. "I'm sure of it."

...

Ji Hoo sat in First Class again on his way to New York. He was glad to be leaving Calgary that day - the clouds looked dark and menacing. Someone even told him they had a snowfall warning in effect for that evening.

He thought about his discussion with Dr. Taylor earlier that day. He would need to bring Jan Di to Canada soon, provided she agreed to do the procedure. He promised her he'd find a way for her to swim again, and he did. He was confident of Dr. Taylor's abilities. It would be up to Jan Di, though. He would never force her to do anything she didn't want to do.

He closed his eyes and tried to get some rest. He was running on adrenaline, but he knew that sooner or later his body was going to crash. And then he would be in trouble.

He arrived in New York later that evening, and took a cab to a hotel near Jun Pyo's penthouse. He looked at the address written neatly on a piece of paper.

Jun Pyo lived in a luxury penthouse across from Central Park. Gu Jun Hee (Jun Pyo's sister) had given her his address. She had wished him and Jan Di the best – she harbored no ill feeling towards them, and it gave Ji Hoo some comfort to know someone from the Gu family understood and accepted them.

After he checked into his hotel, he walked over to where Jun Pyo lived. The security guard, a man who looked to be about his late 50s, stopped him outside the building.

"I'm here to see Gu Jun Pyo," he said, trying his best to smile at the man.

"Mister Jun Pyo?"

He nodded.

The guard looked him up and down and then narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him. "What for?"

He hesitated for a moment before he answered. "I'm his friend. I'm in town and just want to see him for a bit."

"Mister Jun Pyo is not in." The guard simply said.

Ji Hoo gave a small bow. "Okay, thank you." He had tried calling Jun Pyo, of course, but Jun Pyo would not take his calls. He decided to sit in front of the building and wait for Jun Pyo to arrive. It was late, and surely he would be coming home soon? At around one in the morning he decided to go back to his hotel and get some sleep. He would have to come back early the next day to try to see Jun Pyo again.

...

Ji Hoo woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He glanced at it, hoping it was Jun Pyo. Perhaps the guard told him he stopped by to visit?

It was Jan Di. She was calling him through video call, so he picked up and got out of bed. He walked to the small fridge and took out a bottle of water.

"Hey," he greeted her. He was exhausted from lack of sleep, and his head throbbed painfully.

"Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you enjoying the weather there?"

 _Huh?_ Ji Hoo was a little puzzled. He went to the window and looked outside. The sun was shining, and based on the clothes of the people walking about outside, he assumed it wasn't too cold out either.

"I guess," he said. He decided to go back to the bedroom and get dressed. He looked at his watch. It was a quarter to seven in the morning. He sighed. He had to try and see Jun Pyo again. What if he had left for work already?

"Hey, I have to go. I have a meeting here soon," he yawned. He gave her a lazy smile. "I miss you."

He got dressed quickly, picked up a cup of coffee and ran to Jun Pyo's building. He sat in front of the staircase again. The old security guard from last night was nowhere to be seen – instead a young man stood guard there that morning. He gave him a quick nod, and waited.

He waited outside for a few hours before he decided to leave. He stood up, sore from sitting for so long, and was about to walk back to his hotel when the old security guard appeared in front of him.

"Hey, you're back," the guard observed. "Still waiting for Mr. Jun Pyo?"

He nodded.

"He's not in."

Ji Hoo forced a smile. "I kinda figured that."

The guard shook his head. "No, I mean, he's not here. Not in New York. He's in California on a business trip."

His heart sank. "Oh."

Before deciding to fly to New York, he had asked Jun Hee if Jun Pyo would be in New York that week, and she had assured him he was. "His sister said he'd be here this week."

The guard shrugged. "Mister Jun Pyo wasn't supposed to leave, but he got called to speak at the last minute."

 _Go figure._

He looked hopefully at the guard. "Do you know where in California?"

The guard grinned. "Los Angeles."

...


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ji Hoo sat in his hotel room contemplating his next move. He had flown all the way to New York and had gotten nowhere. He knew where in Los Angeles Jun Pyo was – the guard had mentioned a conference he had gone to – but L.A. was several hours on the plane away, and he was weary to the bone. Missing Jan Di a great deal did not help his spirits either.

He decided to give her a call.

"Hey, I was just thinking about you!" Her voice sounded cheerful.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm at the mall with Yi Jung sunbae."

"Oh." He paused. "How's the ring hunting going?"

"Good. We finally found one for her. He's just wrapping things up at the store." A pause. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow night."

 _Me too_ , he thought.

He closed his eyes and thought of the reason he had come to New York. He thought of the elaborate proposal they'd been planning, and of coming home empty handed to Jan Di. He clenched his jaw and strengthened his resolve. _I can't give up now._

"Umm...about that," he began, unsure of how to tell her. "I'm not coming back tomorrow." He sighed. "I have to stay here for a few more days."

"Oh." Was all she said. He imagined her smile being replaced by a frown.

"I'm sorry." He wanted to tell her why he was there so bad. "I'm just not done here yet."

"Okay," she said. He could hear the disappointment in her voice. "I miss you, Ji Hoo," he heard her whisper. He could tell how hard this has been for her.

 _If you think missing me is hard, you should try missing you,_ he thought, ruefully.

"Is that Ji Hoo?" He heard Yi Jung's voice call out.

"Hey, what's up Ji Hoo?"

"I have to stay here a few more days," he confessed.

"Oh. Okay."

"I can't get a hold of Jun Pyo. Just look after Jan Di, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Thanks for continuing on with the plan."

"You better come back in time though!" Yi Jung warned.

"I'll do my best," he replied, wearily.

"I need you, dude!" Yi Jung exclaimed.

"I'll be there, don't worry."

"Uh huh."

"Thanks again, bro."

"Okay. Be safe!"

He hung up, bent over and cradled his head in his hands.

...

His flight to L.A. took around 6 hours direct. He tried to eat on the plane because that was the only time he ever remembered to eat. He scolded himself for not taking better care of his body. He couldn't afford to get sick, or to collapse due to starvation and dehydration (not to mention exhaustion).

He booked himself into a hotel near the Los Angeles Convention Centre, as he had no idea where Jun Pyo was staying. He thought about going straight to the Convention Centre, but he couldn't find the energy to do so. According to his sources (that is, the internet), the conference Jun Pyo was attending was ending the next day. He had time to take a much-needed break.

He woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

"Hey, Ji Hoo, you owe me a new pair of shoes!" Yi Jung blurted out, as soon as he picked up.

"What do you mean?" he asked, a little dazed.

"Well, I was trying to move this one lotus flower to the center of the pond when my shoe fell in."

He clapped a hand on his forehead. "Who told you to do that?"

He heard Yi Jung sigh heavily. "I wanted it to be perfect. _For you guys._ " A pause. "That flower was _stubborn._ I had to keep pushing it away but it wouldn't go."

Ji Hoo raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You know, those things are _attached to the ground_ , right? I mean, they're kind of _planted_ there."

Yi Jung pretended not to have heard him. "Anyway, I'm a size 11 in men's dress shoes. I'm sure they have a lot of nice stores there in L.A."

He hunched his shoulders and pressed a hand on his forehead. Yi Jung was giving him another headache.

Still, he did owe his friend for helping him.

"Fine."

...

"Gu Jun Pyo!" he called out, as he ran to the Conference room entrance.

A guard blocked his way and asked him for his ID. As expected, he was not on the list so he couldn't get in.

Ji Hoo cursed silently as the doors closed, though a part of him felt glad that he had finally found Jun Pyo. He saw his friend head inside the conference room, though he didn't think Jun Pyo heard him as he was quite far away. But he had renewed hope. He knew where Jun Pyo was.

He sat in front of the doors reading a newspaper. He looked at the schedule posted on the door – they would be taking a short break in a couple of hours. He dared not venture away from the doors except to go to the washroom. He was so close...

When the doors opened, he peered inside, looking for the familiar face of his friend.

He frowned. Jun Pyo was not there.

"Excuse me," he asked a young guy who just came out of the conference room. "Do you know where Gu Jun Pyo went?"

The guy smirked. "Jun Pyo never stays for the whole thing. He gave his opening presentation and then left through the back."

He wanted to scream out loud, but he managed to compose himself. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

The guy shrugged. "He might come back this afternoon for the closing session."

 _The universe is conspiring against me,_ he thought, miserably.

His spirits were now at an all-time low, and he was at a loss on what to do next. Should he keep waiting on the off chance that Jun Pyo came back?

He asked the guy if he knew where Jun Pyo was staying but the guy just laughed and told him "somewhere fancy."

He waited until the conference ended, holding on to a sliver of hope that his friend returned for the end of the session.

He was severely disappointed.

His hope plummeted and he knew it was time to give up. He tried to give himself encouragement by telling himself that Jan Di was waiting for him when he got back.

A couple of young guys in classy business suits walked by him. One of the guys reminded him of Yi Jung.

He looked at his watch. He did not have the energy to fly back to Canada that night.

And he did owe Yi Jung a new pair of shoes. He decided to swing by the shopping area before he went back to his hotel. He hailed a cab and asked him to take him to the shops.

The cab driver took him to Rodeo drive - " _where the stars shop_ ", was what he was told. He walked around aimlessly, browsing from shop to shop hoping to find a pair of dress shoes that Yi Jung would like (and wouldn't complain about).

"Yoon Ji Hoo?" he heard a voice call out. He whipped his head around to make sure he hadn't imagined it.

A young woman wearing a huge sun hat and huge sunglasses stood in front of a store staring at him. She had long, wavy hair that almost reached her waist, and on her arm hung a massive designer purse.

She looked vaguely familiar.

"It _is_ you!" The woman started walking towards him, a smile spreading widely on her lips. "You haven't aged a bit."

Ji Hoo shifted uncomfortably. When the woman was a few steps closer, he squinted as recognition slowly took shape.

"Jae Kyung?" he asked, uncertainly.

...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"So, what brings you to L.A.?" Jae Kyung asked him, as they sat at a café on Rodeo Drive. She had grown her hair long – and it fell in huge waves all over her back. He didn't recognize her at all. She looked very... feminine.

"I came to see Jun Pyo." He saw no reason to hide it from her.

"How's that going for you?"

He lowered his gaze and hunched his shoulders in response.

"Why do you want to see him?" She took a sip of her latte.

"I want to see how he's doing," he looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "We haven't spoken in months."

Since Jan Di had chosen him.

It wasn't for lack of trying, either. He had been calling and texting him for months with no response.

"So why now?" Jae Kyung's tone was curious, not accusatory.

He looked at Jae Kyung, who sat there listening attentively. "I want to try to make amends with him."

He thought of Jan Di then and couldn't help but smile. "I'm going to ask Jan Di to marry me."

Jae Kyung's eyes widened, then she let out a small sigh. "I see." Then she cocked her head to the side. "What's the hurry?"

Ji Hoo met, and held, her gaze. "I guess once you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

He told her where he'd been and how he had been following Jun Pyo around, with no luck.

"Wow." She said, resting her fingertips on her cheek. "You're not the same timid Ji Hoo I remember... When did you get so brave?"

He gave a dry laugh. Jan Di's smiling face appeared in his mind again. "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply…gives you courage."

If he had never met Jan Di, he would never have the courage nor the strength to do what he was doing now.

Jae Kyung sat back with her arms crossed, and eyed him thoughtfully. "I can see why she chose you."

She was silent for a few minutes and then she brushed her dress and stood up. "Well, I guess I'll have to take you then."

He looked at her quizzically. "Where?"

"We're going to see Jun Pyo."

...

"Really?" Ji Hoo couldn't believe his ears as he stood up. "Right now?"

Jae Kyung glanced at her watch and frowned. "Tomorrow. I have a meeting later tonight I have to attend." She saw the disappointment on Ji Hoo's face. "He'll be on the plane right now on his way back to New York anyway."

Ji Hoo just stood there, unmoving. Jae Kyung stepped in front of him.

"I promise, I'll take you to see Jun Pyo." She grinned. "I know his schedule, and I know where he lives. If we have to squat in his penthouse until he met with you, so be it."

Ji hoo couldn't help but smile. Relief washed all over his body. _Finally!_ It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulder. He felt so relieved that he gave her a huge hug, a smile still plastered on his face. Jae Kyung was taken aback by the unexpected hug, but she hugged him back just the same.

"We have some time to kill," she said, glancing around at the shops. "Did you want to get something for Jan Di?"

"Actually, I'd like to get some shoes for a friend." He hadn't thought about getting Jan Di something from there. Maybe he should. Jae Kyung would be able to give him advice on it.

After an hour and a half of shopping, Ji Hoo walked behind Jae Kyung holding a few designer gift bags. He had found some shoes for Yi Jung, and had also bought a pair for Woo Bin. Jae Kyung had also persuaded him to buy a designer purse with matching shoes for Jan Di. He knew Jan Di didn't care much for high-end items, but it gave him great joy to buy stuff for her anyway.

"If I were you, I would have just bought Yi Jung ONE shoe." Jae Kyung commented, as they walked towards her car. "I mean, he only lost ONE anyway. That should teach him to use common sense next time."

"Common sense is not very common nowadays," Ji Hoo remarked, and they both roared with laughter.

It was the first time since he arrived in North America that Ji Hoo had laughed like that. He felt extremely grateful at having found a friend thousands of miles away from home.

...

Ji Hoo walked to Jun Pyo's penthouse building full of hope and anticipation. Jae Kyung had urged him to go ahead – she had some appointments to attend to - but would be there shortly. He didn't mind sitting outside his building this time.

The old security guard walked over to him, his brow creased as he scratched his head.

"Hey, you're back!"

He responded with a grin.

"Mister Jun Pyo just left." Ji Hoo's face fell, but the guard quickly added, "But he'll be back soon. He just went to get something from his office."

"Okay." He gave a small bow. "Thank you, kind sir."

The old man stood up straighter. "I'm Mark Rogers." The man held up his hand.

"Yoon Ji Hoo." He shook the man's hand. Mr. Rogers looked delighted.

"You're quite the persistent young man, aren't you?" he observed.

"You might say, I don't give up that easily." Ji Hoo was in a good mood.

They talked about random things – Mr. Rogers told him all about his life in New York. He had been working as a security guard for almost 3 decades now.

Before Ji Hoo could tell him about himself though, a black car pulled up in front of them.

The door opened, and Jun Pyo stepped out.

...

Ji Hoo stood up so fast his head spun. He had to blink several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Mister Jun Pyo!" Mr. Rogers called out, as he went to open the building door for him.

Ji Hoo stood there, frozen in place. He shook his head and willed himself to speak. "Gu Jun Pyo!"

Jun Pyo looked at him, but didn't acknowledge his presence. Instead, he kept walking.

"Jun Pyo, I just want to talk!" Ji Hoo called out, but it landed on deaf ears.

Jun Pyo was almost inside the elevator. Ji Hoo ran, and thankfully, Mr. Rogers let him in this time.

Jun Pyo glared at Mr. Rogers, and the poor security guard ran after Ji Hoo.

"Young man, I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here." There was a pleading look in his eyes.

Ji Hoo wanted to bang his head against the wall. He sighed, then relented. He would just have to wait for Jae Kyung to show up. He read through his messages and found out she was still held up in a meeting somewhere.

"I'll wait here."

His hope dipped low again. He thought for sure when he saw Jun Pyo in person his friend would at least talk to him. It had been several months, and they weren't just friends – they were more like brothers.

How could he not even acknowledge his presence?

...

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." - Quote from Harry (When Harry Met Sally)_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Jun Pyo sat on his couch and laid his head back on the head rest. His mind was reeling. Did he really see Ji Hoo downstairs? What was he doing there? He knew it had something to do with Jan Di.

Since Jan Di rejected him for Ji Hoo, he had done his best to forget about them, about what happened – and sometimes, he found himself able to smile again.

And now his past had come back to haunt him.

 _Why did it have to be Ji_ _Hoo_ _?_ He lamented. Ji Hoo was closest to him, which was probably why it hurt him more. Not that it was entirely Ji Hoo's fault though – since Jan Di was the one who chose him.

But he couldn't bring himself to hate Jan Di. A part of him still cared about her.

The problem was, he didn't really hate Ji Hoo either. He couldn't. If anything, he hated himself. He blamed himself for losing her. He was the one that kept calling Ji Hoo to rescue her, to keep her safe, to keep her company.

A soft knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He sat up, alarm on his face, thinking the guard had let Ji Hoo upstairs. He looked through the peep hole and saw Mr. Rogers himself on the other side of his door.

He opened it warily.

"Mister Jun Pyo?" Mr. Rogers looked down at the floor as he spoke.

"Yes? What is it?"

"That young man is still downstairs." Mr. Rogers looked at him hesitatingly. "He said he was your friend?"

 _Was is right_ , he thought, sourly. "Just send him away please." He moved to close the door, but the old man still stood there, head bowed, shoulders hunched.

"He has been coming here the last few days waiting for you."

Jun Pyo sighed. Ji Hoo must have a lot of free time lately. Maybe Jan Di and him broke up?

 _Ha_ , he snorted. Fat chance. He knew Ji Hoo too well to believe that. "I don't want to see him."

The man stood there for a few minutes, biting his lower lip.

"What is it?" Jun Pyo asked, slowly getting impatient.

"Umm...he's Korean right?"

"Yeah."

"He looks like a member of one of those K-pop bands." The man looked hopefully at him. "Is he?"

Jun Pyo's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "What do you know about K-pop? You're like 60!"

This time, the old man grinned. "My granddaughter is obsessed with them. It's all she listens to and talks about!" His eyes were full of excitement as he stepped closer to Jun Pyo and whispered, "Do you think he'll mind if I ask for his autograph? And maybe a picture?"

Jun Pyo's eyes went so wide it looked like it was going to pop out of his head. Finally, he recovered and pushed the man out the door.

"Out!" He slammed the door.

...

A few minutes later, there was another knock on his door. Jun Pyo tried to ignore it but whoever it was would not give up.

"If you want to ask for his autograph, go do it yourself," he muttered angrily as he opened the door.

"Why would I want someone's autograph?" Jae Kyung stood there, an eyebrow arched in amusement.

He sighed as she walked in and plopped herself on the couch.

"What are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes at her as realization took hold. "NO. I will not talk to him."

Jae Kyung smirked. "He came all the way here to see you."

"Why?"

"Maybe he misses you?"

He glared at her. "It's about Jan Di, isn't it?" He snorted when she didn't reply. "What? Are they getting married or something?"

Jae Kyung cocked her head to the side and gave him a knowing look. Jun Pyo felt his heart clench. _What? Is that why he's here?_

"Hmph. Don't tell me he's here to ask for my blessing?" Ji Hoo was delusional if he thought that would ever happen.

"He just wants to talk to you." She simply stated.

He crossed his arms and scowled. "I have nothing to say to him."

She stood up and walked closer to him. She met his gaze. "Then listen."

Jun Pyo stepped a few feet away from her, unable to hold her gaze. "That's easy for you to say. You have no idea what I went through. You...don't...understand," he said, through gritted teeth.

Jae Kyung's eyes narrowed. She gave him a dirty look. "You're right. I don't understand." She gave a sardonic laugh. "It's not like I know how it feels to be rejected by someone you love."

Jun Pyo bit his lip as her words struck him.

"Tell me something," Jae Kyung said, as she stepped towards his front door. "If the situation had been reversed – if Jan Di had chosen you instead of him – do you think Ji Hoo would act like this?"

Jun Pyo hung his head.

"Do you think if you guys got married, that Ji Hoo wouldn't stand beside you, as your best man and best friend?" She emphasized every word she spoke. "No, he would still stand beside you, and stick by you, even though he was slowly dying inside."

"I'm not Ji Hoo," Jun Pyo's voice was merely a whisper.

She scoffed at him. "No, you're not." Then her face softened, and she looked at him sadly.

"You're Jun Pyo."

...

"Young man," Mr. Rogers called out and Ji Hoo turned to look at him. The security guard walked slowly towards him, and gave him a nervous smile. He had told Ji Hoo he was going upstairs to talk to Jun Pyo while Ji Hoo waited outside.

"Yes?" Did Jun Pyo ask him to leave? Was he getting kicked out?

"I was wondering...if I could take your picture?" Mr. Rogers took out his cellphone. "You know, for my granddaughter?"

Ji Hoo wasn't sure he heard him right. _A picture of me?_ Maybe Jun Pyo _did_ want to see him. _His granddaughter?_ Was that a code name for Jun Pyo? If it was, Jun Pyo had certainly gotten weird in America.

It was bizarre, but he deemed it a harmless request nonetheless. "Um. I guess."

The old security guard broke into a huge grin and snapped a photo of him. Ji Hoo tried to smile but he felt so awkward it looked like a grimace. Mr. Rogers took out a pen and a piece of paper.

"Can you sign this too?"

Ji Hoo's eyebrows shot up. Okay, whatever this weird custom was, he had not heard of it. Why would Jun Pyo want his signature?

"You're a musician, aren't you?" Mr. Rogers stood beside him, a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes. Yes, I am." He hadn't performed at the Arts Centre in months due to work, but he played with his instruments whenever he had a chance.

 _Jun Pyo must have told him_. The fact that Jun Pyo had talked about him to this man gave Ji Hoo a ray of hope.

He signed the paper and gave the old man a genuine smile.

"So...what's the name of your group called?" Mr. Rogers clutched the piece of paper tightly.

 _My group? I guess he means our group_. He beamed at the man. "We're called the F4. Well, in high school mostly, but the name stuck until now." He was impressed at how much Jun Pyo had told his security guard. _They must be very close._

Mr. Rogers looked so delighted it looked like he was going to hug him. At the last minute though, the old man seemed to compose himself. "F4, huh? I'll be sure to tell my granddaughter about your group." Mr. Rogers shook his hand enthusiastically. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Ji Hoo was thoroughly confused, but before he could ponder on what just happened, Jae Kyung stepped out of the front door. She was scowling.

"No luck huh?" Ji Hoo guessed.

She gave a short laugh and sat beside him. "He'll come around. Just wait and see."

...

Jun Pyo stepped out of the elevator and saw Jae Kyung sitting beside Ji Hoo on the front steps. She was leaning close to him and whispering, and they were both smiling. He frowned, annoyed at their proximity. _What? Are they besties now too?_

"Hyah!" He called out, and both of them turned to look at him. "Fine. Let's talk."

Jae Kyung nudged Ji Hoo and he stood up, face hopeful. They went back up to his penthouse.

"Nice place you have here," Ji Hoo remarked, as he cast a sweeping glance around. "How have you been?" Ji Hoo's heart pounded, and his hand felt clammy as he held onto his bouncing knee.

"Get to the point," Jun Pyo said curtly. "It's not like you to beat around the bush."

Ji Hoo sighed wearily. And then he looked intently at Jun Pyo. "It was never my intention to hurt you or cause you pain. I'm sorry. I never wanted to drive a wedge between us." He dropped his gaze. "You, Woo Bin and Yi Jung are the only brothers I've ever known. I hope one day, you'll learn to forgive me."

Jun Pyo sat there, taken aback. He already blamed himself for what happened – he knew Ji Hoo didn't intentionally try to hurt him, but Ji Hoo's apology made him feel worse.

"Why are you here, Ji Hoo? Are you here to gloat?"

Ji Hoo shook his head. "No, I just wanted to see an old friend - to make sure he's doing okay. And to let him know I'll be waiting for him to come back." He smiled sadly. "No matter how long it takes."

Jun Pyo looked away. Why was Ji Hoo always so...good? It drove him crazy sometimes.

"If I come back, and Jan Di decides she wants to be with me, what would you do then?" He eyed Ji Hoo smugly.

Ji Hoo lowered his head. "I can't force her to stay with me if she doesn't want to."

"Well, you know what they say, right? If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they're yours forever. If they don't, they were never meant to be." Was that what he had done? He had set Jan Di free hoping she'd come back to him? He wasn't sure anymore. Even though a part of him already knew, he was still terrified to accept the fact that she may never come back to him.

He gave a hollow laugh. "I guess if you're getting married, she's probably not coming back to me."

Ji Hoo's eyes widened.

"You're surprised that I know?" He smirked. "I just guessed. Why else would you be here?"

Ji Hoo looked away. "I haven't really asked her yet."

"If you're asking for my blessing, I can't give it." His voice was hard.

Ji Hoo bowed his head. "I know." Then he glanced up at him, his eyes sad. "Still, I would want you to be there."

He smirked again. "Against my will?" He raised an eyebrow. "You want me to stand beside you as her disgruntled ex-fiancé?"

Ji Hoo shook his head. "I want you to stand beside me as my brother."

Jun Pyo heaved a heavy sigh. Memories of over two decades of friendship flooded his mind. His brothers. The only ones that really put up with him.

"I don't hate you, if that's what you're worried about."

Ji Hoo opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

"I don't hate you both. I never did." Jun Pyo cradled his head with his hands. "But I can't..."

"It's okay, I understand." Ji Hoo piped in, before he could finish. He stood up and bowed low in front of him. "Thank you for seeing me."

"You look terrible, by the way," Jun Pyo observed, as he took a closer look at Ji Hoo.

Ji Hoo couldn't help but smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "It's been a rough week." He started walking towards the door, then stopped. "Your mother..." he began.

Jun Pyo sat up. "What's she done now?"

"She tried to take their house and their business again," Ji Hoo stated, his tone sad.

It was the first time Jun Pyo had heard of it. He thought his mother would have been happy Jan Di was no longer in the picture. She had never approved of her as "daughter-in-law" material. "I'll tell her to leave them alone." Maybe she was angry at the articles that came out after it was made known that her son had been 'dumped'.

Ji Hoo's gaze was steady. "It's okay, I took care of it." He opened the door and turned to him again. "But we're adults now – it's not like when we were young and she could do whatever she wanted. This time, I can fight back. And I will do whatever I can to protect her."

Jun Pyo simply nodded. _I know you will._ "Have a safe flight, Ji Hoo."

…

"Thank you."

Ji Hoo stood in front of a beaming Jae Kyung, who was obviously pleased she was able to keep her promise.

"I hope you were able to do what you came here for," Jae Kyung said. They were at the JFK Airport, and he was flying straight to Vancouver then to Seoul. She had offered to drop him off, and he gratefully accepted.

"I don't know how you did it," he remarked, his face full of admiration and respect.

"Well, it takes a brat to deal with a brat," she answered, casually.

When Ji Hoo gave her a quizzical look, she smiled at him. "I've had to deal with his snotty attitude the last few years so I've learned a few tricks."

He eyed her questioningly. Was there something going on between her and Jun Pyo?

She grinned. "I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no, we're not together." She shook her head. "I'm done pining for him. We're just good friends now." She leaned closer to him conspiratorially. "This time, if he wants to be with me, he's going to have to work hard for it."

He chuckled. "Take care of him, will you?"

She gave him a little shove towards the gate. "Tell Jan Di I said hi."

He simply nodded.

"Hey Ji Hoo," Jae Kyung called out, as he was walking towards security. Ji Hoo turned around.

"Good luck. I wish you guys the best."

…

Ji Hoo sat on the plane and looked at the lights outside his window. In a few minutes, he would be landing in Seoul. It had been a long week and a half, but he was glad it was over. He took out his phone and stared at Jan Di's picture on it.

 _Jan Di, I'm coming home._

...


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **(EPILOGUE)**

...

"Wait, we're playing what?"

Yi Jung stood inside the arena, his hands on his hips. Woo Bin and Ji Hoo stood beside him, all of them wearing track pants and t-shirts. Ji Hoo had a red bandana tied around his head to keep his hair away from his face. He had grown his hair long again. Woo Bin's leg had completely healed by now, and he had been going through physio-therapy to get it functioning back to normal.

Jan Di grinned widely, although she was feeling a bit nervous inside. Ga Eul stood beside her – both of them wore shorts and a loose shirt, their hair up on ponytails.

The door opened and Hye Jin walked in, bright eyed and smiling, wearing the same outfit as them.

Jan Di recollected running into the girl a week ago while she was out at the supermarket.

...

" _Hye_ _Jin_ _!" she called out, as she ran to hug the small and petite girl. She had just finished buying groceries as she promised to cook supper for Ji_ _Hoo_ _and Grandfather that night._

 _Hye_ _Jin_ _flashed her a wide smile. "Jan Di! How have you been?"_

" _I'm good," she smiled back. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you around the coffee house lately."_

" _Oh, I don't work there anymore," the girl replied, her eyes bright. "I got a job at an engineering firm downtown. I'm a career woman now!"_

That's why _, Jan Di thought. They'd been to the coffee house three times since and hadn't seen the girl. She knew Woo Bin had been too shy to ask where she was, and Jan Di had just assumed the girl was taking a break._

" _Does that mean we won't see you around anymore?" Jan Di thought about how Woo Bin had been so quiet every time they met at the coffee house lately. Even Yi Jung's teasing had not gotten a rise out of him._

 _A plan slowly began to form in her head._

" _Hey,_ _Hye_ _Jin_ _, do you want to hang out sometime?" She asked, hopefully. "With, you know, me and the gang?"_

 _Hye_ _Jin's_ _eyes lit up. "Really? For sure!"_

" _What do you like to do?" She wasn't much into planning things anymore, but she didn't want_ _Hye_ _Jin_ _to feel left out in case they decided on something she didn't feel comfortable doing. "Is there anything you enjoy doing?"_

 _Hye J_ _in_ _grinned widely at her and nodded._

" _Soccer."_

...

"Are you girls sure you want to do this?" Yi Jung called out, as they stood out on the soccer field. All of them wore running shoes, with the exception of Hye Jin, who was wearing soccer cleats.

Jan Di nodded. "Boys versus Girls. Loser buys dinner."

The boys raised their eyebrows, and Woo Bin shook his head in amusement.

Ga Eul wrinkled her forehead and called Jan Di aside.

"Jan Di," Ga Eul whispered, with Hye Jin huddled beside her. "If we lose, we'll need to chalk up a lot of money to pay for their dinner – because I'm certain they'll make us pay. But if they lose...well, they buy us dinner all the time! We could go to the most expensive place and those boys won't even bat an eye. It's not really much of a punishment, you know?"

Jan Di considered Ga Eul's words. She had a point. She turned back to the boys, who were patiently waiting with their arms crossed.

"Okay. Here's the thing." She looked at each of them in turn – first Woo Bin, then Ji Hoo and lastly Yi Jung. "If you win, we buy you dinner. Anywhere you want."

Ji Hoo's eyes widened while Yi Jung smirked. Woo Bin raised his eyebrows.

"But if we win...you guys do whatever we want for one entire day."

Ji Hoo chortled, while Woo Bin simply stood there, looking amused.

"Hey, no fair!" Yi Jung complained. "Ji Hoo already does whatever you tell him to do."

Jan Di lifted her chin up at Yi Jung. "Are you afraid you'll lose?"

Yi Jung narrowed his eyes in response.

"Game on."

...

Jan Di decided to put Ga Eul as their goalkeeper, while she and Hye Jin would try to run and score against Yi Jung, who was the boys' goalie. Since they were only playing for fun, they moved the goal posts closer than where they normally were. They also had no referee, and decided they didn't need one. They both agreed that the first team who scored 5 goals wins the game.

"I haven't played since high school," Ga Eul whispered nervously, as they huddled around before the start of the game.

"Just do your best," Jan Di encouraged her. She hadn't played for a while also, but she had faith in Hye Jin.

Hye Jin was doing stretches and warm up exercises beside them, and she had never seen the girl look so alive and excited before.

Ji Hoo went over to the girls' side and handed Jan Di a bottle of water. Hye Jin's eyes went wide when she saw Ji Hoo up close.

He smiled at her and bowed his head in greeting.

"I'm Yoon Ji Hoo. Nice to finally meet you, Miss Park Hye Jin."

Hye Jin gawked at him, eyes wide and mouth even wider.

Jan Di chuckled and leaned over to whisper in Hye Jin's ear.

"That one is mine," she said, while Hye Jin turned redder than a tomato.

Ga Eul jogged over to them. "And the annoying one is mine," she grinned. "Woo Bin's up for grabs though."

For a moment Jan Di thought Hye Jin would dash out of the arena and hide, as her face was ridiculously red. But Hye Jin just stood there, rubbing her left shoe on the grass. Jan Di figured she was trying to compose herself.

...

Yi Jung blew the whistle and the game started. Jan Di ran to gain control of the ball, with Ji Hoo close behind her. Woo Bin was guarding Hye Jin.

Yi Jung stood there, arms crossed, looking bored.

Jan Di managed to kick the ball over to Hye Jin, and then she was off. Hye Jin maneuvered deftly around Woo Bin and Ji Hoo and then kicked the ball straight in between the goal posts, much to Yi Jung's astonishment.

"What the -" Yi Jung exclaimed, unsure of what just happened.

Hye Jin was a pro on the soccer field.

She weaved in and out and was so fast, most of the time it took Yi Jung a few seconds to realize she had scored again. And again. And again.

"How in the world could someone so small be so fast?" Yi Jung exclaimed. He gave Woo Bin a dirty look. "Are you letting her win just because she's cute?"

Woo Bin put his hands up in defeat. "Dude, she's fast." He looked thoroughly impressed. "She's like a soccer ninja."

...

"We might be in trouble," Ga Eul said, as the girls huddled around during time out. She looked over to where the boys stood. "Ji Hoo's really good. I can't stop them from scoring."

Jan Di wasn't surprised. After all, Ji Hoo did own a European soccer team. Why was he good at everything? She pursed her lips and gave a sly smile. "Leave Ji Hoo to me."

They were running after the ball, Jan Di frantically trying to steal it from Ji Hoo.

"Honey, slow down!" she called out, and Ji Hoo froze. He stood there, hands on his hips, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

"Honey?" He repeated.

Jan Di flashed him the cutest smile she could muster. She had never called him that before. She leaned closer to his ear. "Okay, hubby then." She stole the ball from him as he stood there, grinning like an idiot, his mind somewhere far away in dreamland.

All this happened in a span of a few seconds.

"Earth to Ji Hoo!" She heard Yi Jung call out.

Jan Di was kicking the ball on her way to Yi Jung, when out of nowhere Woo Bin stole it from her. She groaned and went back after Woo Bin. Hye Jin suddenly materialized in front of him, and she skillfully took the ball, running all the way to an alarmed-looking Yi Jung.

In the end, the girls won by one point. Hye Jin scored all their goals, of course, so she gave her a huge hug. All three of them were jumping up and down, thrilled at their victory.

"You were amazing out there!" Jan Di complimented, and Hye Jin beamed at her. "For a moment there I thought I'd have to use up a month's salary to pay for dinner." It was a close game, so it was such a relief when Hye Jin scored the winning goal.

The boys came over to shake their hands. Yi Jung looked suspiciously at Hye Jin.

"Why didn't you tell us you're a mini-Beckham?"

Hye Jin suppressed a giggle. "What fun would that be?"

Woo Bin chuckled. He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Good game."

Jan Di saw Hye Jin blush a deep shade of red again. She smiled inwardly and decided to give the two of them some time alone together.

"Ga Eul," she whispered, so only Ga Eul could hear. "Let's detain Ji Hoo and Yi Jung in the locker room later, ok?"

...

Woo Bin and Hye Jin waited outside the arena for the rest of the gang.

"I wonder what's taking them so long," Woo Bin wondered out loud. He looked at Hye Jin, who stood there, silent as a mouse. "Did you have fun tonight?"

She nodded and then looked straight up at him. "Thank you."

Her big brown eyes were so full of life and childlike innocence that Woo Bin swallowed hard. He didn't know why being around her unnerved him so.

"I wonder what punishment you girls have in store for us." He gave her a crooked grin and stared at her, while she flushed, unused to being stared at.

Just then, two men in black suits appeared. They were huge; both over six feet tall, both wearing dark sunglasses, and their faces were hard and expressionless.

Woo Bin froze in place, uncertain of what to do. Hye Jin looked at him, then at the men, and her eyes narrowed.

She stood protectively in front of Woo Bin (all five feet of her), and put her fists up in the air. She was poised and ready to attack.

"If you're looking for trouble, go look elsewhere," she warned, seemingly unafraid. "Leave him alone."

The men looked at each other in confusion. They took a step forward, then hesitated.

Woo Bin shook his head from behind Hye Jin and wordlessly urged the men to leave.

Both men gave a slight nod, bowed and then left.

...

Yi Jung watched in fascination through the glass window of the arena as Hye Jin tried to protect Woo Bin.

"Umm...anyone want to tell her that those men work for _him_?" He pointed at Woo Bin.

Jan Di hushed him and peered closer. Hye Jin's face was fearless, while Woo Bin looked too shocked to move.

It was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

...

After the men left, Hye Jin gave a huge sigh of relief.

"I can't believe I scared them away," she said, as she relaxed her stance. She looked at Woo Bin with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Uh..." Woo Bin was speechless. He recovered after a few minutes and looked at her amusedly. "Why did you think those men would hurt me?"

Hye Jin looked away, slightly abashed. "I heard your friend ask if you broke your leg beating up some guys before. And I just assumed those were the guys he was talking about." She looked at him doubtfully. "They look like they beat people up for a living, you know?"

Woo Bin would have laughed out loud if he hadn't seen how serious and worried Hye Jin was for him.

He grinned at her. "You think you could have taken them?"

She shrugged. "Well, I do have a black belt in Karate." She looked at the arena doors. "And I was kind of buying some time hoping your friends would arrive and help."

Just then, the doors opened and Ji Hoo, Jan Di, Ga Eul and Yi Jung came out.

"Sorry," Ji Hoo said, apologetically looking at both of them. "Yi Jung ate some bad sushi earlier so we had to wait for him to finish in the bathroom." He shook his head while pinching his nose, though his eyes had a mischievous glint on them. "Be thankful you weren't in there."

Yi Jung looked mortified. Before he could speak though, Ga Eul pulled him aside. Jan Di heard Yi Jung mutter " _I'll get you back for that"_ to Ji Hoo while Ji Hoo just chuckled.

...

"So," Yi Jung began, as they sat at a nearby noodle house eating dinner. "Have you girls thought of what kind of horrors to put us through as punishment for losing the game?"

Jan Di looked at Hye Jin. "I think since Hye Jin won it for us girls, she should decide."

Everyone turned to look at Hye Jin. She shrank back in her seat, unused to all the attention, looking even smaller than possible.

"It's okay," Woo Bin urged, giving her a small smile. "We all agreed to the consequences of the game."

Hye Jin sat up and a huge grin appeared on her face. "I think I have an idea."

…

"We're doing what?" Yi Jung exclaimed, as he sat in the clubhouse with the rest of the gang.

The former F4 clubhouse wasn't just a man cave anymore. The girls hung out there frequently with them too.

"We're doing a Kdrama marathon," Ga Eul grinned at him excitedly.

"So we're just going to sit here and watch a show nonstop for an _entire day_?"

The girls nodded in response. Jan Di was excited. Since she got into medical school, she hadn't had time to watch shows on tv. The fact that she managed to pull Ji Hoo into this doubled her excitement.

"Sitting with the girls watching a show doesn't sound so bad," Woo Bin remarked, and Jan Di saw Hye Jin give a shy smile.

"As long as we have refreshments, I don't mind," Ji Hoo stated, and Jan Di beamed at him.

They planned to get food delivered to the clubhouse throughout the day.

"How long is this supposed to be?" Yi Jung asked, still unconvinced.

"Well, it's 16 episodes so...around 16 hours?" Hye Jin replied, holding up the dvd boxed set.

Yi Jung scowled. "That's 16 hours of my life I'll never get back."

"You've wasted more hours than that on lesser things," Woo Bin reminded him.

"At least they didn't ask us to wear dresses or follow them around while they did girly things all day," Ji Hoo told him, while he sat beside Jan Di on the couch.

The girls all looked at him, and Yi Jung could see the wheels turning in their heads.

"Ji Hoo, stop giving them ideas!" Yi Jung scolded, as he sat down beside Ga Eul. "What are we watching again?"

Hye Jin held the dvd up for them to see. "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon."

…

Woo Bin stood up to stretch and get a drink of water. He looked back at the couch and saw the rest of them fast asleep. It had been a long day – they had to take a few breaks in between – but they managed to finish the show anyway.

"What did you think?" he heard a small voice say, and he turned around to find Hye Jin standing behind him.

"I liked it," he said, truthfully.

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah." He gave her a playful grin. "I like short, fearless, and strong women."

...

Jan Di lay snuggled on the couch with Ji Hoo. They had a blanket draped on top of them. Her head rested comfortably on Ji Hoo's shoulder, and she stared at him as he slept soundly, a small smile frozen on his lips.

She had overheard Woo Bin and Hye Jin's conversation, and she couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of what the future might hold for the both of them.

She looked over on the other side of the couch and saw Yi Jung and Ga Eul also snuggled comfortably together. She knew that no matter how much Yi Jung joked around, he was seriously in love with her friend.

Her eyes saddened as she thought of Jun Pyo. She had no idea how he was doing, but she hoped he was happy, at least. She said a silent wish for him, as she remembered the guy she once loved.

 _Gu Jun Pyo, I hope you find someone who brings out the best in you, and makes you appreciate and love yourself even more. And I hope that when you finally find that person, they will stay._

Ji Hoo shifted slightly, and Jan Di thought for a moment that he had woken up. His hand found hers subconsciously, and he took it and gave it a light squeeze before he relaxed his hold. She stared at the rings that adorned their fingers.

Their promise to have a future together.

She gazed at his serene face and silently reaffirmed her love for him.

 _My Ji_ _Hoo_ _,_

 _You are the love of my life...and the life of my love._

 _You are my today, and all of my tomorrows._

 _I love you, and I will love you until I die._

 _And if there's life after that, I will find you and still love you then._

 _..._

* * *

~ The End of Part 2 ~

***Author's note: 5 Bonus Chapters have been added for your reading pleasure. So click the next button and read on! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Thank you, dear readers - and fellow writers!_

 _~cutestuff024_


	15. Chapter 15 (Bonus Chapter)

**Chapter 15 (Bonus Story): The Trip**

 _(As promised - here is the Bonus Chapter - it's actually turning into a Bonus "Story". I did consider separating it as its own story, but then some who stumble upon it might not know who Hye Jin is so...it's probably going to be a few 'chapters' long. Thank you in advance for your patience. I normally finish writing an entire story before I publish it (with just some minor editing left over) but for this particular bonus story I am actually publishing each chapter as I finish writing it so I hope it still turns out well! I was going to wait until it was all written...but some persistent pm's could not be ignored. :) As usual, thanks to those who follow my stories - appreciate all of you! You guys are the best! Thanks for the reviews also! ~cutestuff024)._

 _..._

Ji Hoo woke up to the shrill sound of his alarm. He rolled over on his bed and reached for the snooze button. He did not want to get out of bed yet.

Opening one eye, he checked the time. It was only 6:05 in the morning, and the sun had not yet fully risen. He sat up quickly when he remembered what day it was. It was Friday – and Jan Di had asked him to take a few days off so they could spend some time together.

His lips quirked at the side. Three days off work at the same time was a rarity for them but they had managed to pull it off. He wondered what kind of things Jan Di had planned for them. Whatever it was – he was sure he would enjoy it.

He stood up and started walking towards the washroom. He cast a cursory glance towards his bed. Soon enough he would wake up and find Jan Di sleeping right beside him. The thought made his heart skip a beat. He paused in front of the mirror and noticed his hair in disarray, but he couldn't help but smile at his reflection.

Three days together. Jan Di had told him to pack a weekend bag. He had no idea to where, nor did he care. He grinned as he brushed his teeth. He hopped into the shower, humming softly while he relished the hot spray coming out of the huge rain shower head. When he was done, he put on some sweatpants, a loose shirt and his favorite running shoes. Jan Di had told him to wear workout clothes.

Grandfather sat in the living room reading the morning paper.

"Good morning!" He greeted his grandfather with a quick hug.

"Well, someone's in a happy mood so early in the morning," Grandfather observed, a grin on his face. "I take it you're off to see Jan Di today?"

Ji Hoo nodded. "We're going on a trip somewhere. We'll be back on Sunday." He paused, and examined his grandfather. "Will you be okay here?"

His grandfather snorted. "Of course. The servants come to clean and cook for me. I have a driver to take me wherever I want to go. What more could I ask for?"

He nodded. "I'll make us breakfast today. I hope you're hungry!" He proceeded to whip up his specialty breakfast for his grandfather. Even though his grandfather had retired, he was rarely home. He was always out somewhere volunteering or giving out lectures and speeches either on medicine or politics. Ji Hoo missed spending time with his grandfather. They still went fishing at least once a month – but he hadn't made him breakfast in a while. They chatted happily as they ate, and Ji Hoo was in such high spirits he was certain it was going to be a great weekend.

He had just stepped back into his room when he heard his phone vibrate. His brow furrowed. It was too early for Jan Di to be texting him to pick her up. He glanced at his phone.

It was So Yi Jung. His furrow deepened as he read the message:

 _Jan Di needs you. Come to her house now!_

Why would Yi Jung be texting him about Jan Di? He dialed her number but it went straight to voicemail. He tried to quell the small panic rising inside him. Was something wrong? Was she in trouble? He grabbed his coat and bag and was on his way out the door when his phone vibrated again.

 _Oh, bring your guitar._

He scowled. _What?_ Was Yi Jung drunk this early in the morning?

He was in his car ready to leave when it vibrated a third time.

 _And bring 10 pounds of Korean beef!_

Ji Hoo paused and shook his head in disbelief. Okay, just when he thought Yi Jung couldn't get any weirder...

He started his car and headed towards Jan Di's place.

…

"What's wrong?" He hurriedly got out of his car and walked towards Jan Di. She stood in front of her place, a small backpack dangling on her arm. Her face lit up when she saw him walking towards her. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and smiled.

"Nothing's wrong," she answered.

His forehead wrinkled. "Yi Jung told me you needed me."

"I always need you," she winked, and he couldn't help but blush. She gave an amused laugh. "Aww, why are you blushing? What are you thinking?" She elbowed him teasingly, which made him redder.

Before he could reply, a van pulled up in front of them. Jan Di and Ji Hoo cocked their heads to the side, examining the van. It was an old white van and rusted all over. There were flowery curtains that hung on the back windows. Half the body was covered in stickers with sayings on them. It looked like the van came from the 60s. Maybe it _was_ from the 60s.

The door opened and Ga Eul jumped out of the passenger side. Jan Di's eyes widened.

"Ga Eul!" She ran to hug her friend. "Why are you in this van? Whose vehicle is this?"

The driver's side opened and out jumped a grinning Yi Jung.

"It's ours for the weekend!" he proudly declared. Then he frowned. "Well, actually, I bought the thing so I guess it is ours forever. But I have no intention of keeping it past the weekend."

"Why would you buy something like this?" Ji Hoo asked him in disbelief. "If you needed money, you could always come to me, you know?"

Yi Jung laughed. "I wanted this specific van. I saw it last week and had to beg the owner to sell me this vehicle." Ji Hoo continued to stare at him as though he had lost his mind.

Just then, a black sportscar pulled up and Woo Bin and Hye Jin got out. Woo Bin was grinning from ear to ear while shaking his head at the sight before him.

"So, this is the van you've been boasting about?"

Yi Jung beamed proudly. "Our carriage awaits us."

"Huh?" Jan Di glanced questioningly at Ga Eul. "What's going on?"

Ga Eul winced as they all crowded around her. "You see, he's been...watching a lot of KDramas since we saw Strong Woman Do Bong Soon." Everyone stared at her, gaping. "And he kind of saw this in one of the series and wanted to umm...copy it."

Jan Di couldn't help but giggle. "You got him addicted to KDramas?"

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "Actually, he's been watching more than me lately."

"So, what does this have to do with us?" Ji Hoo asked again, utterly perplexed.

Yi Jung opened the van's sliding door and gestured for them to go in. "Guys, we're going on a camping trip. To the mountains!"

Nobody moved.

Yi Jung groaned. "Come on guys, we're all off work. I've prepared everything! We're going to do the same things I saw in the drama – and believe me, they all bonded and had a blast! It will be a weekend you will never forget!"

"But..." Hye Jin protested. Her big, brown eyes went wide with panic. "We only brought clothes – what about our camping gear?"

Yi Jung smiled smugly. He walked to the back of the van and opened the trunk.

They all stared at the stacks of sleeping bags (all with tags still on), a huge tent (still in its box), and a couple of backpacks stuffed to the brim with camping equipment.

"Wow, you're really prepared for this." Hye Jin's voice was in awe. "All this must have cost a fortune!" She gasped as she caught a glimpse of the price tags of some of the equipment.

Woo Bin shook his head as he replied, "Well, you know what they say about camping - it's where you spend a small fortune to live like a homeless person!" He patted a still beaming Yi Jung on the back.

"Well?" Yi Jung swept a glance at all of them. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go camping!"

…

Ji Hoo wasn't quite sure how he felt about this sudden 'group trip'. It sure wasn't what he had in mind when Jan Di told him they were going away for the weekend. Still, the atmosphere in the van was quite contagious – everyone was chatting excitedly about their trip – so he couldn't help but smile while Jan Di sat beside him.

"Hey Yi Jung," Woo Bin, who was sitting in the third row beside Hye Jin, called out to the front. "How come there's only one tent? Will we all fit in there?"

Yi Jung cast a quick glance at them. "I rented a cabin out for the girls. Us guys will sleep in the tent for a more authentic experience."

"What, just because we're girls we don't deserve an authentic camping experience?" Jan Di asked, half-jokingly.

"We need a kitchen so I had to get a cabin," explained Yi Jung while he drove. "Besides, the tent is heavy and we have to carry it to the camp site." Jan Di saw him grin on the rearview mirror. "You girls will appreciate having a nice, cozy cabin to keep you warm. Trust me."

"Why are we being punished then?" Ji Hoo asked. "Can't we all just stay in the cabin?"

Yi Jung frowned. "The cabin's not big enough for all of us." He then flashed Ji Hoo a wide grin. "Anyway, don't you miss hanging out with Woo Bin and I? Soon enough you'll be a married man. Then who knows when you'll be allowed out again!"

Jan Di playfully hit him on the shoulder. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean? Of course he'll be allowed to hang out with you guys!"

Yi Jung smirked. "You say that now...but we all know who wears the pants in your relationship."

Ji Hoo just laughed. Then he turned to Jan Di. "Are you okay going on this trip?"

She gave a quick nod.

Yi Jung chuckled. "Point proven!"

Ji Hoo wanted to glare at him but decided against it. _Fine,_ he thought. _He's right. We need this getaway together._ "How much longer until we get there?"

"Another hour or so."

Ji Hoo decided he was going to take a nap. He woke up when the car suddenly halted to a stop. Yawning, he looked out the window. They were at the base of a mountain. They all got out of the van and started unloading and dividing the supplies and equipment amongst themselves.

Woo Bin, the strongest of the group, was tasked to carry their one and only tent. It was huge and heavy, but it had a strap that he could hoist on his shoulders for easy carrying. Ji Hoo and Yi Jung each carried a huge backpack that Yi Jung prepared and the girls tied their own sleeping bags onto their bags.

"How far up do we have to hike?" Woo Bin asked, as they started their ascent.

Yi Jung pulled out a map. "I think an hour maybe? The cabin is at the top and promises a spectacular view of the mountainside."

They all seemed excited hearing this and climbed up merrily. Woo Bin kept glancing at Hye Jin, who had fallen behind, seemingly worried that she was carrying too much weight for her small frame.

"Give me those," he called out to her, while she scowled at him.

"I can carry them, you know." She walked faster to get in front of him.

Jan Di and Ga Eul walked side by side, while Ji Hoo walked beside Yi Jung. The sun was still out and it was hot. They panted as they climbed up.

After almost two hours of trekking, they paused to rest for a few minutes.

It was almost 2 pm, and they hadn't eaten lunch yet. Ji Hoo was starting to get hungry. He turned to Yi Jung. "What's for lunch?"

Yi Jung gasped. "What do you mean what's for lunch? Didn't you bring the Korean beef I asked you to?"

Ji Hoo frowned. "You mean, you were serious about that?"

"Of course I was! What are we supposed to eat?" Yi Jung's voice rose slightly higher.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I wasn't exactly carrying 10 pounds of beef with me when I got into or out of the van!"

Yi Jung's face fell. "And you didn't bring your guitar either!"

"You just noticed that now?" Ji Hoo shook his head. "Were you expecting me to carry all that up this mountain by myself?"

"Hey guys, calm down," Jan Di decided to interfere. They were all tired, and the heat (and hunger) was getting to them. "We'll figure something out. We'll make something when we get to the cabin." She flashed a smile at Yi Jung. "I'm sure Yi Jung brought us some other food."

Yi Jung's eyes went wide and Jan Di's heart started to panic. Did he not bring any food?

"I brought some ramyeon for everyone," Ga Eul offered, and Jan Di couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

"See? Crisis averted!" Jan Di pulled Ji Hoo aside. "We'll be fine," she whispered to him, and she saw him relax a little. Why was he so uptight?

"We could always 'hunt' for our food," Yi Jung offered excitedly. "It's what real men do when they camp."

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Woo Bin muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"So," Hye Jin decided to change the subject. "How often do you guys go camping anyway?"

The boys all looked at each other in silence.

"Umm...you mean outside?" Woo Bin asked, hesitantly.

"No, I mean inside a hotel room." Hye Jin rolled her eyes. "Of course outside!"

"This would be...well...the first time," Woo Bin answered, reddening a little.

The girls all gaped at the boys. "What?"

"Our adventures normally include jetting off somewhere. Like an island in the Pacific. Or a shopping trip in Europe." Yi Jung explained, as though it was normal to do those things all the time. "That's why I thought this would be fun." He looked questioningly at the girls. "Have you girls been camping before?"

Jan Di swallowed hard. She shook her head slowly. Ga Eul did the same.

"Once, when I was in high school," Hye Jin replied, smiling. "It was with my school group though, but it was fun."

"See?" Yi Jung beamed. "It will be just like the KDrama I saw!"

Ji Hoo put his hands on his head. "You know those shows aren't real, right?"

Woo Bin stood up and dusted his pants. "Come on, let's get going. Hopefully, Yi Jung knows how to read a map." He turned to his friend. "We're almost there, right?"

"Right."

They started walking again, and Jan Di noticed after ten or so minutes that the trees were getting thicker and thicker. It was a harder climb this time, as they had to navigate their way around the trees. Woo Bin sweated profusely and Jan Di noticed Hye Jin kept glancing at him with worry.

"Come on, chop chop!" Yi Jung called out to the rest of the group, seemingly to encourage them to move faster. "It will be worth it. When we get there, you'll see a view that will take your breath away!"

"I'd like to take your breath away right now," Woo Bin mumbled, and thankfully only Hye Jin and Jan Di heard him.

Jan Di looked around and wondered if they were heading the right way or perhaps they had gotten lost. She was about to mention something to Ga Eul when they came upon a clearing and she saw that they'd arrived at the campsite. At the end of the clearing stood a small log cabin.

They all stood there, staring at the cabin in disbelief.

"Wait, something's not right," Yi Jung's brows were furrowed as he stepped closer to the cabin. "They said it would be small but _rustic_!"

"Are you sure they said rustic, not _rusty_?" Woo Bin offered as he examined the cabin's exterior.

The cabin was indeed small. It was not much bigger than a shed, and the windows had shutters that hung haphazardly on one hinge. The windows were covered with dust so they couldn't see inside, and the metal door was rusted all over. Vines snaked upward one side of the cabin, while spiderwebs almost engulfed the other side.

It looked like no one had been there in years.

Ji Hoo leaned over to whisper in Ga Eul's ears. "Ga Eul, was it a horror-themed drama he saw?"

…


	16. Chapter 16 (Bonus Chapter)

**Chapter 16 (Bonus Story): The Trip**

The door was locked – and Yi Jung lamented that it was supposed to have a keypad to enter the code in. There was no such keypad on the metal rusted door. Woo Bin had to 'break into' the door using a hair pin that one of the girls supplied. The cabin was not what they expected at all. Yi Jung had said there would be a kitchen – but their definition of a kitchen was very different than what Yi Jung's idea of a kitchen was. It was just a small table with a few plates and cups stacked in one of the cupboards. There was no sink, no fridge, no cooktop. No running water or electricity either. A thick layer of dust covered everything.

Yi Jung looked as if he was about to cry. "There has to be a mistake. There's supposed to be granite countertops! And a stocked fridge, an oven, a wood burning fireplace! We're supposed to have electricity and running water! And a chef that comes to cook us one meal a day!" He looked at the pamphlet in his hands. "And they even said they just installed a hot tub!" He whirled around in horror. "And where in the world is the bathroom?"

"Outside." Woo Bin replied, an amused smile on his lips. "The whole outside is your bathroom for the weekend."

Yi Jung's mouth dropped open.

"I think you've been had." Ji Hoo walked closer to inspect the sparse 'furniture' - which consisted of two wooden chairs, a small rectangular wooden table, and a brown shag rug that was probably older than his grandfather. "I hope you didn't pay a lot of money for this place."

"It was quite expensive." Ga Eul stated, putting a comforting hand on Yi Jung's arm.

"Are you sure you didn't accidentally pay for the entire mountain instead? Maybe this cabin was just a bonus?" Woo Bin suggested. When Yi Jung didn't reply, he let out a low whistle. "Well, you wanted authentic, all right." He looked at Hye Jin, but she seemed to be busy checking out the contents of her backpack.

They all stepped outside the cabin – it was too small for all six of them to be inside at the same time anyway.

Jan Di walked over to Yi Jung. "Why don't you call them up to clear this...misunderstanding?"

Yi Jung lowered his head. "I chose this spot because we don't get cell signal here. You know, for an authentic experience. Cut off from the world?"

"Great." Jan Di forced a smile.

"What happens if we have an emergency?" Woo Bin sounded a little worried as he glanced at Hye Jin. Hye Jin stopped what she was doing long enough to frown at him.

"Umm...hello? We have two doctors with us!" Yi Jung argued.

"While I am flattered at your display of confidence in our abilities, I'm a little concerned as well." Ji Hoo scrunched his lips at the side. "We're limited at what we can do out here in the middle of nowhere."

Jan Di gently placed her palm on top of Ji Hoo's hand. "We'll just have to make the best of it." She turned to face everyone. "Just make sure you guys don't have any major accidents!"

"Darn. And here I was, planning on bungee jumping without a rope all the way to the bottom of this mountain," Woo Bin joked.

Ga Eul started unpacking her backpack. "Well, we might as well start unpacking then. It's going to get dark in a few hours." She passed around some granola bars to stave off their hunger for the moment.

"Right," Yi Jung's face lit up as he took out his note pad and scanned his list. "We need some firewood." He pointed at Hye Jin and Ji Hoo. "You two, go gather some firewood."

Woo Bin stood up quickly. "I can go with Ji Hoo. It's probably too much for her to carry."

Hye Jin glared at him. "No, I'll do it. I _can_ do it." She huffed as she walked towards the trees. Ji Hoo looked at her questioningly, then followed suit.

Jan Di noticed the tension between Woo Bin and Hye Jin. Was something going on between those two?

"Woo Bin – you and I are going to set up our tent." Yi Jung was still giving out instructions. "Jan Di and Ga Eul – you guys unpack our stuff and see what kind of food we have."

All of them set out doing their assigned tasks.

Ji Hoo noticed Hye Jin was mumbling incoherently to herself as she picked up some dry sticks of wood. He was hesitant to approach her, but decided it was best to ask if she was okay. He moved beside her, noticing she had found a pile of dead wood that was perfect for a campfire.

"Are you okay?" He asked, hesitantly.

Her shoulders hunched and she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

When she didn't reply, he pressed on. "Are you and Woo Bin okay?"

At this, she dropped the bundle she was holding and sat on a pile of dead wood. "Sunbae, do you think he likes me?"

Ji Hoo was taken aback by the question. "Um...I think he does. Why do you ask?"

She bit her lower lip. "I feel like he treats me like a child. He never wants me to do anything for myself, you know?" She looked about to cry. "I know I'm small, but I'm not useless or helpless."

Ji Hoo slowly nodded. He sat down beside her and thought for a few minutes on how to best explain things to her. "Woo Bin's kind of been the protector of our group. I think he's like that because he _does_ care about you." Hye Jin remained silent. "I've never actually seen him care about someone like he does with you." He saw her crack a small smile. "He's not used to it, you know? Most of the girls he's dated – well, they're not like you – and that's a good thing, you see? Being in a serious relationship is new to him, so you'll have to be patient with him and give him time. He's just overly protective of you because he's terrified of you getting hurt." He looked at her. "But you know, you should tell him how you feel and maybe he'll back off a little? We're guys – unless you spell it out to us, we're practically clueless."

She smiled at him. "You and Jan Di seem to have no issues understanding each other."

He couldn't help but smile back at her. "Believe me, we went through a lot to get to where we are."

"You guys seem to have an amazing relationship though."

He thought of Jan Di then – of his future wife. He turned to Hye Jin, a smile still plastered on his face. "If you want a relationship that looks and feels like the most amazing thing on earth, you need to treat it like it is the most amazing thing on earth."

She dipped her head slightly in understanding. "Thanks, sunbae." She stood up and started picking up the pieces of dead wood again.

Ji Hoo started doing the same. As he picked up a huge piece of wood, something moved in the corner of his eye. He dropped the wood, and froze. His eyes widened, his pulse quickened – and sweat began to form on his forehead.

Hye Jin paused when she noticed Ji Hoo's reaction. "Are you okay?" She looked to where he was staring, his face full of terror.

A huge, brown spider, around 3 inches long, lay on the stacks of wood in front of them.

 _A mountain spider?_ Hye Jin thought, as she peered closer. She felt Ji Hoo's arm pull her back protectively.

"It's okay, it's not venomous," she assured him, but the terror on his face did not go away. She picked up the log and carefully pushed it away from them. She turned to face him. "Are you okay?"

She heard him heave a quick sigh of relief. He looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

"I... don't like spiders," he said quietly. "That's why I don't like the outdoors. I..." He scratched his head, embarrassed.

"I won't tell anyone," she promised, and he smiled at that.

They got back to the camp site holding armloads of dead wood, and they piled it in the middle to start a fire.

…

Jan Di and Ga Eul watched with great amusement as the boys set up their tent. They heard a lot of cursing and grumbling from the two boys as they stood there trying to figure out where each piece went. Jan Di glanced at Ji Hoo, who was crouched by the pile of wood intensely rubbing two pieces of rock together. She cocked her head to the side as she watched all three boys.

"What are you thinking of?" Ga Eul asked her, an eyebrow raised.

"You know, from here they almost look...normal."

"What do you mean by that?" Hye Jin sat down beside them.

"Well, they're always so elegantly dressed – you know - so prim and proper. Looking at them like this make them seem like...common folk. Like they could be our neighbors." Jan Di looked at Ji Hoo – who had his long hair tied into a small ponytail, wearing white sweat pants, a light blue t-shirt and white sneakers. And then at Woo Bin and Yi Jung – who both had bandanas tied around their heads to keep their hair off their faces – wearing almost matching navy sweats and gray hoodies.

"Until they open their mouths, that is," Ga Eul said, and all three of them broke into a grin.

"So, what's the deal with them?" Hye Jin asked, curiosity apparent on her face.

"What do you mean?" Ga Eul answered her.

"I mean, I know they're rich and all, but Woo Bin hasn't actually told me much about what they actually do, or how they got there." Hye Jin clasped her hands together in front of her. "He just said they were known as the F4 because they were rich and famous."

Jan Di thought about the first time she met them. And what Kang San had found out from the internet about them. She tried to recall as much of the details as possible. "Well, Song Woo Bin is the heir to a construction empire – I think his family owns half of Jeju island," she began, pointing at Woo Bin. Hye Jin's eyes widened at this info. Jan Di wondered if she should mention that his family also had strong ties to the mafia, but decided it best to leave that out. "So Yi Jung is a pottery prodigy who comes from a line of extremely artistic people. His masterpieces have sold for a _lot_ of money. His grandfather also owns a famous art museum." She then turned towards Ji Hoo – _her Ji_ _Hoo_ , and smiled widely. "And Yoon Ji Hoo is the grandson of former President Yoon. He's a musical genius and can play almost every instrument out there. He also owns the Art Center, a European soccer team and a major league baseball team." Her face lit up as she remembered something else. "Oh, and maybe a Canadian hockey team in the future!"

Hye Jin's jaw had dropped wide open. "Wow." Was all she said.

Jan Di's face fell as she continued. "And Gu Jun Pyo..."

"I know who he is," Hye Jin interrupted, and Jan Di was for once glad at the interruption. "Everyone knows the heir of Shinhwa. I'd love to meet him one day." Hye Jin turned to Jan Di. "Is he coming to your wedding?"

Jan Di swallowed hard. She guessed Woo Bin had not told her about their 'history'. "I don't really know...he's in New York and very...busy."

"Well, Woo Bin said they were all brothers so I'm sure he'll be there! He can't possibly not show up for his own brother's wedding." Hye Jin smiled at her and Jan Di forced a smile back.

Ga Eul gently squeezed her hand.

...

"There, that wasn't so bad!" Yi Jung proudly declared. He and Woo Bin both stepped back and admired their work.

The girls all looked at each other, their expressions a mixture of confusion and amusement. The tent _was_ up, but it was severely lopsided, leaning heavily to the right.

Woo Bin looked at the piece of paper in his hand. "How come it looks nothing like the picture?"

Yi Jung waved a hand dismissively. "They probably staged the picture there to look way better than it is – you know, as a marketing tactic?"

 _Or as a guide on how it's supposed to look,_ Jan Di thought, but she did not say it out loud.

"Ah. Makes sense." Woo Bin seemed convinced.

Jan Di bit her lower lip to stifle a laugh.

"Sunbaes?" They both turned to look at her. "How come there are a lot of extra pieces over there?" She pointed at the ground beside them.

Woo Bin gave a nonchalant shrug. "I think those are spares, you know? For when you lose or break a piece."

"Spares? On a tent? _"_ Ga Eul whispered to Jan Di.

"I think they're called tent poles." She whispered back, and they both started laughing hysterically. The boys cast a questioning look at them.

"What I wouldn't give for a working phone to record all this right now." Jan Di wished her phone hadn't died earlier.

"Are you sure?" Ga Eul asked the boys, feigning ignorance. "It doesn't look very...stable."

Yi Jung frowned and picked up the instructions again. "It would help if the instructions weren't all in Japanese!"

"You _had_ to buy the most expensive and most complicated one out there huh?" Woo Bin argued. "You'd think they'd have some English or Korean instructions in there!"

"This was what the store clerk recommended – it's light and easy to set up. And can fit 3 grown men with room to spare!"

Woo Bin shook his head. "I thought they made those things called pop up tents? I heard those things practically set themselves up!"

Yi Jung pointed exasperatedly at the tent. "This _is_ supposed to be a pop-up tent!"

"For the price you paid for it, it should have come with a person to set it up for us." Woo Bin was not backing down.

"Well, it will have to do for tonight," Yi Jung decided. "I'm beat."

Jan Di saw Hye Jin approaching the tent with a confused look on her face. "That's not how..." she began, but Jan Di pulled her over to the side and shook her head.

"That will collapse on them while they sleep," Hye Jin quietly protested.

"We'll fix it when they leave," Jan Di whispered. She called out to the boys. "You guys should go get us some water, our bottled water is about to run out."

"I can't get the fire started," Ji Hoo sighed, as he walked towards them. Jan Di saw wisps of smoke coming out of the pile. She also noticed his hands had small blisters on them. "How come it looks so easy on tv?"

"Go, we'll figure it out." She pushed him towards the other two. "Don't take too long."

The boys all nodded. Yi Jung proudly took out six empty white bottles from his backpack. "Each bottle has a built-in filter – so we can fill it up wherever we want and won't have to worry about getting sick!" He looked at his map. "There should be a stream not too far from here." The boys all trudged towards the direction Yi Jung pointed.

When the boys had disappeared from sight, Jan Di stood up.

"Okay girls, let's fix this tent before they kill themselves on it tonight."

…

It took the boys around half an hour (maybe more) to find the stream that Yi Jung was talking about. They filled the bottles and walked quickly back to the campsite. Fortunately, it was still light out, and they had walked almost in a straight path, so it wasn't too bad finding the camp site again. They were almost to the site when Ji Hoo heard the girls talking about them. He signaled for the other two to stop and keep quiet. All three boys perked their ears up and listened.

"Well, isn't this quite a different date than what we're used to?" Ga Eul's voice said out loud.

They heard the other two laugh. Then Jan Di's voice: "They said camping is not a date - it's an endurance test. If you can survive camping with someone you should definitely marry them on the way home. It means you can survive anything together!" The girls giggled together.

Hye Jin's voice: "That totally makes sense. It will show how strong your relationship is. I guess we'll have to see which couples survive this trip!"

Ji Hoo looked at the faces of the other two boys. Both Woo Bin and Yi Jung were listening attentively. They all nodded in unison, their faces set with determination.

 _Right,_ Ji Hoo thought. _I'm going to do anything to survive this camping trip – even if it kills me!_

…


	17. Chapter 17 (Bonus Chapter)

**Chapter 17 (Bonus Story): The Trip**

"I'm hungry. We should think about what to eat for dinner," Jan Di said to Ji Hoo while she rummaged through her backpack.

"I know exactly what we're eating for dinner," Yi Jung raised his chin up, beaming proudly. "There's a lake close by that's supposedly teeming with fish. We'll go there and get some and we can have some fish for dinner!"

At the sound of fish their faces all lit up. Fresh fish sounded much better than the dried packets of food they had unearthed from the packs.

"You guys better go while it's still light out then," Ga Eul urged Yi Jung. She handed him a small flash light. "Here, in case it's dark when you get back."

Ji Hoo looked uncertainly at Jan Di.

"We'll be fine," she smiled at him. "We'll try to get the fire going and ready for that yummy fish you guys are bringing back."

Hye Jin went to each of the boys and tied a bracelet around their wrists. "It's to keep the mosquitoes away. They're starting to come out."

The boys started walking away from the campsite. Ji Hoo took out his compass to ensure they could find their way back. They headed a little to the east of the stream, and walked excitedly dreaming about roasted fish on a stick.

Ji Hoo paused suddenly.

"What?" Yi Jung asked, glancing nervously around.

"Wait, how are we going to catch the fish?" In his excitement he had forgotten about this crucial piece of information.

Yi Jung shrugged. "You go fishing all the time. I was hoping you'd know."

His eyes widened. "You want me to catch it with my bare hands? Who do you think I am? Tarzan?"

"They said that the fish are practically jumping into your arms in this lake anyway. And I brought this." Yi Jung held up a small net as he walked ahead of them. He turned around, walking backwards while waving the net, teasing him.

Suddenly, Yi Jung tripped on a tree root and fell backwards onto the ground, the net flying out of his hand.

"Hey, who put this tree in the middle of the forest?" he grumbled, wincing as he sat up.

Woo Bin chuckled as he and Ji Hoo passed by a frowning Yi Jung. "What doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger."

"Except for bears. Bears will definitely kill you," Ji Hoo whispered nervously. He had frozen mid step, panic slowly radiating from his entire body.

They had come across a clearing. The lake was right in front of them – it was a small lake – but on the other side of the lake (around 4 acres across) he could clearly see a black shape moving about. The shape had a white spot on its chest, and even from this distance he could see how big it was. Ji Hoo knew from years of watching National Geographic that this was an Asian Black bear. He signaled the other two to keep quiet as he slowly walked backwards to them. These bears were known to be aggressive towards humans, and even though a body of water separated them, he didn't want to risk it with the animal. He noticed that the side the bear was on had another mountainous peak on it. It seemed that the mountain they were on had two identical peaks with a lake in the middle.

When they were safely away from the lake, Ji Hoo heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Fish is off the menu for today, guys." He stated, and the other two nodded in agreement.

Woo Bin frowned. "The girls will be so disappointed when we come back empty handed."

They all hung their heads at this reality.

"Wait, did you hear that?" Yi Jung's eyes widened. He whipped his head around, trying to figure out where the sound came from.

Ji Hoo wrinkled his brow. Yes, he _could_ hear something. They all walked carefully towards a row of prickly bushes and peeked over them.

Four wild chickens stared back at them.

A slow smile spread across their faces.

"Roast chicken, anyone?" Woo Bin whispered, as he tiptoed quietly to the other side of the bush. Just as when he was about to grab one, the chickens started running.

The boys ran after them, their faces grim with determination.

"These chickens sure are fast!" Ji Hoo called out to the other two. None of them were having any luck catching one. Yi Jung almost came close to nabbing a brown chicken with white streaks on its wings but it escaped his net at the last minute.

They stopped to take a breath, and Ji Hoo tried to wipe the drops of sweat across his face. "I give up." He conceded defeat. "Let's head back to the girls." He put his hand in his pocket to take out his compass. It wasn't there. He tried to quell the small panic growing inside him as he patted all his pockets and found no sign of the compass. "Oh no," he wailed. "I must have dropped my compass when we were running after those blasted chickens."

Yi Jung took out his flashlight and turned it on. The sun had almost completely set. Fortunately, the stars were out in full force, giving off some light so they could see where they were walking.

"You mean we're lost?" Woo Bin groaned, as he plopped himself on the ground. He glanced around. "Anyone recognize any of these trees?"

"They all look the same to me," Yi Jung answered, as he sat beside Woo Bin.

"No kidding," Ji Hoo was the last to sit down. _This is great. Just great._

"Anyone have the time?" Woo Bin asked the other two boys.

"I left my watch back in camp when Yi Jung said we were going to the lake," Ji Hoo answered back in the dark.

"I gave mine to Ga Eul for safekeeping," Yi Jung said, weakly.

Ji Hoo stood up. There was no way he was going to sleep there, not if he could help it. "Let's keep walking. Maybe we'll recognize something and find our way back to camp."

They all stood up and walked aimlessly for what felt like hours, Yi Jung leading the way with his small, dim flashlight. It was hard to tell anything apart in the dark. Exhausted, hungry, and a little grouchy, they all sat down, hope slowly ebbing away.

"I'm sure we've been gone for hours," Yi Jung stated. "The girls are probably worried sick and are probably calling out a search party for us."

"We're the only ones on this entire mountain!" Woo Bin's voice was an octave higher than normal.

"I have some walkie-talkies in the backpacks. I'm sure they've been calling out for help." Yi Jung sounded so confident. "You just wait. There will be a huge search and rescue party coming to get us." He licked his lips dreamily. "And I'm sure they'll bring us food. Maybe there's even bacon!"

They all sat there in silence for what seemed like another couple of hours.

"Ga Eul will come looking for me," Yi Jung said out loud, though not as confidently as the last time.

"I wouldn't if I were her," Woo Bin smirked.

Ji Hoo thought of Jan Di. He wasn't sure he wanted her wandering around in the woods late at night looking for him. As much as he wanted to see her, he wanted her safe too. A horrible thought nagged at him. What if he never saw her again? What if they'd wandered too far away that they could never be found?

His stomach growled loudly.

"Hey Yi Jung," Ji Hoo called out, his voice exhausted.

"Yeah?"

"I just want you to know that if we never get rescued from here, I'm going to eat you first."

Yi Jung seemed mortified. "I don't like this new Ji Hoo who speaks his mind. I want the aloof and mysterious Ji Hoo back!"

Woo Bin snorted. "I like the new Ji Hoo. I like the fact that you don't hide inside your shell anymore."

Ji Hoo couldn't help but smile at that, though it was too dark for the others to see.

"Don't worry, we'll get back to the girls. I'm sure of it." Woo Bin continued. "We just have to stay put in one place as it's easier for them to find us this way." He looked around. "We may have to face the fact that we might be sleeping out here though."

Yi Jung and Ji Hoo groaned.

"This was not how I planned this weekend to be," Ji Hoo remarked, dejectedly.

"What? You never planned to spend the night in the bush getting eaten by mosquitoes with Yi Jung and I?" Woo Bin said, sarcastically.

"Yi Jung," Ji Hoo called out again.

"What is it this time?" Yi Jung's voice was apprehensive.

"When we get back to Seoul, I swear I'm going to sue the network that put this idea into your head!"

…

"What if the bear followed us here?" Yi Jung glanced nervously around. He held his small flashlight and pointed it around.

"Will you stop freaking us out?" Woo Bin scolded. "We're already pretty stressed out."

"I think I still hear the chickens though," Yi Jung looked around. "It's like they're teasing us."

Ji Hoo clapped a hand on his forehead. "I think you should have your head examined."

Just then, they heard some rustling in the woods. The boys all stood up quickly and huddled together. Yi Jung pointed his weak flashlight in front of them, hands shaking and feet trembling. The noise got louder and louder, until they were sure it was right in front of them. Horrible thoughts of being mauled by a bear occupied Ji Hoo's mind.

Suddenly, a dark, shadowy shape jumped in front of them.

The boys all screamed. Yi Jung was so startled he jumped into Woo Bin's arms.

Yi Jung shone the light at the shape. Woo Bin's face lit up.

"You found me!" He sounded so relieved. "I knew you'd be the one to find us first!" He didn't even realize he was carrying Yi Jung until a few minutes later. He dropped him like a hot potato. Both boys looked away, embarrassed.

Hye Jin furrowed her brows at them, then she smiled as she saw their faces. "Hey it's you guys! I thought I heard voices back here!" She exclaimed.

The boys all crowded excitedly around her.

"I knew you girls would come looking for us!" Yi Jung happily declared. He looked around, looking for signs of more people coming. "So, how did you find us? How big is the rescue party that's out looking for us? You girls must have been so worried!" He looked at Hye Jin's hands. "Did you bring bacon?"

" _Bacon_?" Hye Jin echoed, looking very bewildered.

"How's Jan Di?" Ji Hoo asked, a weary smile on his face.

Hye Jin looked at the three of them as though they had lost their minds. "Actually, I came out here to pee. I thought I heard voices so I walked over to investigate. I didn't know you guys were here." She held a small lantern that gave out a light three times brighter than Yi Jung's small flashlight.

Their faces fell. "You mean you girls weren't out looking for us? Weren't you even worried? We could have died out here!"

Hye Jin arched an eyebrow. "You guys were only gone for less than two hours." She narrowed her eyes at them. "Where's the fish you promised?"

"But..." Woo Bin stammered. "It felt like we've been gone for 7 or 8 hours! Are you sure?"

Hye Jin looked at her watch and nodded. "Yup. Pretty sure." She cocked her head to the side. "So...no fish then huh?"

The boys would not meet her eyes.

Woo Bin decided to change the subject. He put his hands on his hips. "Why did you walk all the way out here to pee? Don't you know how dangerous it is to wander off at night?"

Hye Jin smirked. "Our campsite is only a few steps that way." She pointed behind her. "I'm sure if you guys were any louder, we'd have heard you from there."

Relief flooded the boys' faces. _They were that close? Really?_

"Do we have any food? We're starving." Ji Hoo inquired hopefully.

"Yeah, I think Ga Eul and Jan Di are cooking up a pot of ramyeon – you know, just in case you guys didn't come back with fish." She grinned at them. "Not that we don't trust your 'hunting' ability or anything."

...

The boys burst excitedly onto the site, startling the girls.

"You're back!" Jan Di's face lit up as she walked towards Ji Hoo. As she got closer she noticed the boys all looked haggard, leaves and twigs stuck out from their disheveled hair. Ji Hoo's white pants was now a light shade of gray. "What happened?" She asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Ga Eul asked, rushing to Yi Jung's side.

"Just his pride," Woo Bin muttered, and Hye Jin glanced up and giggled at him.

"I almost died out there!" Yi Jung wailed, as Ga Eul gently stroked his head.

"That's because Ji Hoo almost killed you," Woo Bin whispered. Hye Jin giggled again.

The girls made the boys sit down on their makeshift chairs - they'd found some huge circular logs that were perfect for the job – as they dished out the still steaming ramyeon to the starving boys. They practically inhaled the food.

"How did you guys get the fire started?" Ji Hoo asked, between bites.

"Oh, we found a lighter and some firestarters in one of the packs," Jan Di answered, as she wiped away the dirt that clung all over his face.

Ji Hoo narrowed his eyes at Yi Jung. "You had a lighter all along?"

Yi Jung shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know what went inside those backpacks. I just went to the store, told the clerk I wanted him to stuff them with everything I'd need to go camping, and then paid for it." He slurped the broth loudly. "He told me about the big items and how to use them, of course."

Ji Hoo's shoulder's slumped, and Jan Di could tell that he and the other two were exhausted.

"You guys should go get some rest. We'll finish up here." When she didn't hear any argument from the boys, she stood up and started clearing up the dishes. After she had finished, she went inside their cabin.

Ga Eul and Hye Jin followed her and they set up their sleeping bags on the floor. They had tried to clean up as much as they could earlier – just enough so they could lay on the floor without suffocating from all the dust. They had cracked the window open to let some air in.

The boys' tent was right beside their cabin. She could hear the boys moving inside – she assumed they were also setting their sleeping bags on the ground.

…

"Hey, you two did a great job with the tent," Ji Hoo complimented. "It looks just like the picture."

Woo Bin and Yi Jung looked stumped for a moment, then they both smiled. Woo Bin elbowed Yi Jung as he looked around the tent. "See, we did good. It _does_ look better from the inside, though. A lot bigger than I thought it would be."

Ji Hoo decided to sleep in the middle, while Woo Bin took the left side and Yi Jung the right. They had a small lantern that they hung in the center of the tent. The ground was cold and hard, but fortunately – their sleeping bags were well made, and it wasn't as bad lying down on it as he thought.

His peripheral vision caught something moving outside the tent. He lifted his neck to look at it, and his eyes widened in horror.

A spider was crawling outside the tent. He could only see the shadow, but it looked massive – as big as his hand. It was on Woo Bin's side of the tent, and it paused halfway up as it neared the zipped window.

Ji Hoo swallowed hard. _It's just the lantern that's making it look bigger than it actually is. That's how shadows work, you see_. He tried placating himself with this thought. _It's probably just a tiny spider._

Woo Bin turned to his side and came face-to-face with the spider's shadow. He screamed as he ran to Yi Jung's side, and Ji Hoo was sure he'd never seen him move that fast. Yi Jung sat up and saw the spider also. His eyes widened, but he did not scream.

"It's outside," Yi Jung stated the obvious. "We're safe in here as long as it's outside."

Still, they all sat as far away from it as possible, waiting for it to move and disappear from sight. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I didn't know you guys were also afraid of spiders," Ji Hoo said quietly.

"I'm not. It just startled me, that's all," Woo Bin answered, defensively. His tone didn't sound very convincing though.

"I'm not either. But that looks like a big one," Yi Jung pointed at the shadow outside. "It might even be venomous." He turned to Ji Hoo. "You know how to treat spider bites, right?"

Ji Hoo did not reply. He was slowly breathing in and out, trying to calm himself down.

"You know how spiders eat mosquitoes, right?" Yi Jung whispered, as though the spider might hear him. "What if it ate one of the mosquitoes that bit us? Does that mean it's got a taste for our blood? Is that why it's outside waiting?"

Ji Hoo wanted to smack him. "You're not helping."

Woo Bin swallowed hard. "Let's just try to shoo it away." He took his shoe and tried to push on the spider. It worked. The shadow scurried upwards until it disappeared.

"Where did it go?" All three of them looked up. "It's not going to fall on us while we sleep, right?" Yi Jung looked a little panicked. "I don't want to swallow it by accident."

They inspected the tent for gaps and holes just in case, before they settled down to try to sleep again. The spider was nowhere to be seen – so they hoped it had left for good.

Ji Hoo couldn't sleep. He wondered if Jan Di was sleeping soundly already. He hoped she was warm in the cabin. He wished she was right beside him so he could hold her in his arms.

His stomach made a loud gurgling noise. He sat up and frantically looked around, a hand on his stomach. The other two were staring at the ceiling – Woo Bin had an arm across his forehead, while Yi Jung just stared blankly at the lantern.

"Hey, I have to go to the bathroom," Ji Hoo declared, unzipping his sleeping bag.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll be sure to send you a letter," Yi Jung muttered dryly.

"I need to take the lantern." He reached out to grab the lantern.

Yi Jung sat up. "Why do you need that? The trees are like right behind us."

"I'm not going to pee." Ji Hoo rolled his eyes. He grabbed some biodegradable wipes that Jan Di had given him earlier.

Yi Jung's eyes widened in understanding. "You better go far away from camp!" He stood up and rummaged through his pack. "And you better bring a shovel with you!" He tossed a small shovel at him. "I swear, if I step on that, you're not only going to have to buy me new shoes – you're going to have to pay for a new foot!"

"Don't tempt me!" Ji Hoo retorted, but he grabbed the shovel and unzipped their door. He looked cautiously outside, looking for any sign of the spider. When he saw none, he stepped outside and scowled. " _Let's go camping, he said. It will be fun, he said,"_ he mumbled as he disappeared into the night.

…

Jan Di, Ga Eul and Hye Jin heard the boys talking outside. Hye Jin had also told them all about what had happened to the boys while they went on their 'hunt', as Woo Bin had filled her in on the details. They were all rolling on the floor laughing out loud.

"This has got to be the best day ever!" Ga Eul gasped. "We should do this more often!"

"I agree!" Jan Di's stomach hurt from laughing so much. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed this hard. "Maybe I should have my wedding up here!"

She saw Ji Hoo exit the tent and kept an eye on him as he disappeared from view. She would watch by the window until he came back, just to make sure he was alright. She glanced back at the other two. "Hey, do we have enough food to last us until Sunday morning?"

"Maybe they'll actually catch us some fish tomorrow?" Hye Jin's face was hopeful.

"I think we have some granola bars, a few packages of oatmeal, some bread, some dried fruit and a few more packs of ramyeon left," Ga Eul answered. "We should have enough – as long as we ration it well. We could also try and look for berries tomorrow."

"Good," she said. "If we run out of food I'm afraid the boys might want to leave camp." She grinned. "And I'm not sure I'm quite ready to leave this 'paradise' yet!"

…


	18. Chapter 18 (Bonus Chapter)

**Chapter 18 (Bonus Story): The Trip**

Ji Hoo woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside. He smiled to himself, eyes still shut. He dreamt that Jan Di was sleeping beside him – and that they had gone away to a remote island together. He turned to his right and slowly opened his eyes.

Woo Bin's face greeted him as his eyes widened. Their faces were inches away from each other, dangerously close to touching lips. He pulled his head back so quickly that he hit Yi Jung's head behind him.

"Aish!" Yi Jung screamed, as he clutched his throbbing head. "What's the big deal? You into head-butting so early in the morning?"

Ji Hoo sat up and looked at the other two. They were all huddled closely in the middle of the tent. "You guys ever heard of _personal space_?"

"It got cold at night," Woo Bin replied drowsily. "Body heat helps, you know."

Ji Hoo opened his mouth to reply but thought better about it. He did wonder why he felt quite warm (and maybe even comfortable, though he hated to admit it out loud) the previous night.

He sat up, ran a hand through his already messy hair, and sighed. He considered suggesting they head back to civilization that day, but he didn't want to be the one who gave up first. Maybe he should talk to Jan Di first and ask her what she wanted to do.

He heard movement outside the tent and decided he should get up. He examined his clothes and decided to change. He put on a fresh pair of sweats and a pale green long-sleeved shirt.

He found the girls busy stirring a pot of oatmeal over the fire. A fresh stack of dried wood was piled high near it.

"How long have you girls been up?" He asked, as he walked over to Jan Di.

"Not long," she replied. She was humming happily as she stirred. Ga Eul was busy putting some bowls on top of the small table they had taken out of the cabin, while Hye Jin seemed to busy replenishing their wood pile.

"Hey," he whispered, careful not to be heard by the others. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you having fun? Because we can probably convince them to go home now if you girls are uncomfortable."

Jan Di shook her head, and then smiled. "We're actually having a blast."

Ji Hoo was a little surprised to hear her answer. "Oh. That's great to hear." He forced a smile. "I'm glad you girls are having fun."

"Are you guys having fun?" Jan Di asked hesitantly.

"We're always having fun," Yi Jung answered before he could, as he stepped outside their tent. "What's for breakfast?"

...

After everyone had eaten breakfast, they all decided to go for a quick morning hike. Ji Hoo made sure to wear his watch because it had a built-in compass – to ensure there was no repeat of the previous day's events. He also gave the other two boys a can of bear spray that he found in the packs. They walked further up the mountain, following the small stream that ran alongside it, with Yi Jung and Ga Eul leading the way, Ji Hoo and Jan Di in the middle, and Woo Bin and Hye Jin in the rear. The couples held hands as they walked, admiring the tranquility of the place, marveling at all the wildflowers that dotted the path.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Jan Di smiled at him as they walked holding hands. "I like being cut off from the world. No pager beeping at you every 5 minutes, no one calling you to come to work at two in the morning. All this fresh air and just the sound of nature all around you. It's amazing, isn't it?" Her face was bright and cheery and Ji Hoo couldn't help but smile at her.

She was right, of course. He did not miss his pager going off all the time, or the traffic, or smog in the city. He did miss the food though, but he supposed he could tough it out for one more day. If she could do it, so could he.

"So, how come you've never gone camping before?"

He shrugged. "The opportunity never came. I didn't really have anyone to go with – maybe if I had reconciled with Grandfather earlier we'd have gone. I don't really know." He smirked. "Besides, I figured if snakes don't sleep in my room I won't sleep in theirs."

When they reached the top of the mountain, he gave a short intake of breath. Thousands of trees dotted the landscape – their leaves a wonderful blend of green, yellow, orange and fiery red. The sun was out and cast an unearthly glow upon the forest below. It left him speechless.

"Wow." He heard Jan Di say, as her eyes cast a sweeping glance at the view before her.

"Well, you were right for once," Woo Bin remarked, and Yi Jung lifted his chin up in obvious pride.

"I wish I had a camera," Hye Jin said, and Woo Bin gave her a gentle squeeze.

Ga Eul inhaled deeply. "I love all this fresh air! I wish we could bottle it up to take home!"

"Now there's a business idea," Yi Jung chuckled, as he put an arm around her.

All three couples stood there admiring the scenery for some time, their minds memorizing every detail in front of them.

"I suppose we should start heading back." Woo Bin didn't sound too happy about it, but everyone slowly nodded in agreement, breaking the trance that the landscape had put upon them.

"I guess you get one point for that view," Ji Hoo said, as he passed Yi Jung and Ga Eul.

Yi Jung puffed out his chest. "What did I tell you guys huh?" He turned to the two boys. "You guys want to try to get those fish today? We'll be more prepared this time."

Ji Hoo wanted to argue, but Yi Jung was right. They knew what to bring and look out for this time. Plus, he was going to make sure to wear his watch no matter what. "I feel like we shouldn't be pushing our luck, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

They got back to the site and started packing up what they needed for their fishing trip. The girls decided to stay behind and wait for them to come back. They found the lake right away this time, and after carefully inspecting their surroundings for any sign of the bear, waded slowly into the water. They made sure to stick close to the shore, just in case they needed to high tail it out of there. There were a lot of fish swimming about, but catching them wasn't as easy as Yi Jung made it out to be.

Ji Hoo saw his reflection in the water and frowned. He was filthy. It only took him a few minutes to make his decision.

"Hey Woo Bin," he called out. Woo Bin had made a makeshift spear and was busy hurling it at the water. "You're on bear watch."

Before Woo Bin could ask, he took off his shirt, threw it on to the ground, and dove right in.

The water was cool – but it wasn't freezing cold. After his body got used to the temperature, it actually felt quite refreshing. He smiled widely as he floated freely around.

"That's not a bad idea." He heard Yi Jung call out and then a splash a few minutes later.

"That's not fair." Woo Bin stood there, watching the two of them enviously.

"You can come in. But we'll have to talk loudly, just in case there's a bear close by." He raised his voice louder. "THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS STARTLE IT. WE BETTER STICK CLOSE TO THE SHORE TOO!"

"OKAY!" Woo Bin shouted back, and he dove in with them.

"THIS IS NICE!" Yi Jung swam around, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"YEAH. IT'S NOT A HOT TUB OR A SWIMMING POOL, BUT IT WILL HAVE TO DO!" Ji Hoo replied.

"I'M SO HAPPY TO GET THIS DIRT OFF MY SKIN!" Woo Bin shouted. "FOR A MOMENT I WAS AFRAID IT WOULDN'T COME OFF!"

"I THINK WE'RE SCARING THE FISH SCREAMING LIKE THIS THOUGH!" Yi Jung scanned the water, frowning. "THE GIRLS WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED AGAIN!"

"YOU HONESTLY THINK THEY'RE EXPECTING US TO CATCH ANYTHING BUT A COLD?" Ji Hoo laughed.

…

"They're not going to catch anything but a cold, are they?" Ga Eul wondered out loud, as the girls sat around the fire pit.

"I wouldn't keep my hopes up," Jan Di sniggered.

Hye Jin stood up. "I'm going to get some water. Do you girls want a refill too?"

Jan Di and Ga Eul handed her their water bottles.

"I'll be right back," Hye Jin said, as she walked towards the stream.

Hye Jin had just started filling up the second bottle of water when she heard noises nearby. She cocked her head, listening intently. Someone was shouting. She stood up hurriedly and ran towards the sound. Maybe the boys were in trouble and screaming for help.

She got to the end of the thick group of trees when she saw the lake and stopped dead in her tracks. She could see the boys from afar – they did not look like they were in trouble. In fact, it sounded like they were all laughing and... wait, were they swimming? It took her a few seconds to notice they were all naked, at least from the waist up (that she could see). She turned away, her face turning a deep shade of red.

Did they see her? No, they couldn't have or they would have called out to her. She ran as fast as her short legs could carry her all the way back to camp.

"Is something chasing you?" Ga Eul hurried towards her, a long piece of wood in her hands, ready to strike. Her eyes suspiciously scanned the area where she came from.

She shook her head, panting as she did so. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath.

"What's wrong?" Jan Di peered worriedly at her face.

She hoped she wasn't as red anymore. "Nothing." When the other two didn't look convinced, she shrugged. "It's just that I was by the stream filling out our bottles when I heard some screams. So I ran towards it to investigate."

"And?" Jan Di leaned forward, interest piqued.

"And the boys were at the lake, shouting and swimming."

The other two raised their brows. "Swimming?"

"Yeah." She started to turn red again. "I think they were...naked." She raised her hands defensively. "But I didn't stay to look too long, I swear! I ran back here as soon as I realized it."

"Naked?" Ga Eul echoed, casting a knowing glance at Jan Di.

Jan Di's mouth quirked at the side. She grabbed her bottle from Hye Jin. "Ga Eul, do you want to go get some more water with me?"

Ga Eul nodded enthusiastically. "All of a sudden, I'm quite thirsty too." She turned back to Hye Jin. "Come on!"

"But I just filled them up!" Hye Jin protested, as she ran after them.

…

The girls found the perfect vantage point under the cover of some thick trees. From there they could see the boys perfectly – while they figured it would be almost impossible to see them unless the boys knew exactly where to look.

True enough, the boys looked to be enjoying the water immensely. Jan Di could see them smiling and laughing as they splashed in the water. She noticed they were all shirtless - their smooth, wet skin glistened brightly in the sunlight. She sighed dreamily as she watched them, and she heard the other two girls sigh as well.

"Jan Di," Ga Eul spoke softly, her voice dreamy. "Do you think it's bad if we're spying on our own boyfriends like this?"

"Mmm?" A mischievous grin was plastered on her face. She had seen them shirtless at the beach before, of course, but out here, in the middle of nowhere, with no other eyes to gawk at them but theirs, it felt as though they had walked into something forbidden. Try as she could, though, she couldn't tear her eyes away from them.

"I was wrong about yesterday," Ga Eul continued, her eyes fixed ahead at the sight before them. " _Today_ is the best day ever."

She nodded, her eyes fixed on Ji Hoo. She looked at the water longingly and wished she could be out there swimming with him. He had told her about his meeting with a specialist in Canada, and the high probability of her swimming again. She thought about it long and hard, and decided she was going to risk the surgery. Their plan was to go there after their wedding, where Ji Hoo could still continue his residency while she recovered. Once again, he had found a way to fulfill his promise to her.

 _I still can't believe you're mine,_ she thought, her heart brimming with love.

"What are you girls doing here?"

All three of them jumped so high they could have tried for a basketball team somewhere.

"Umm...we're..." Hye Jin stammered, face flushed with embarrassment.

"We're on bear watch," Ga Eul finished, lifting her chin up to seem confident.

Woo Bin arched an eyebrow. He was dripping wet, still shirtless. Jan Di noticed Hye Jin was looking everywhere but at him. "Really? Out here?"

"Yes." Jan Di tried to quickly think of an excuse. "We were...going to scream if we saw one but umm...we didn't so we're leaving now."

All three of them stood up and turned around, but Woo Bin called out to them.

"Why don't you girls come join us? The water's not bad."

"Well, we need to get back to camp...to clean up." Jan Di winced as she blurted out the most pathetic excuse ever.

"Clean up what?" Ji Hoo seemed to appear suddenly. Yi Jung was right behind him.

"I told the girls to come join us." Woo Bin explained. "Besides, don't you girls want to wash off a bit?"

"Are you saying we smell?" Ga Eul narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm just saying I think you girls will enjoy it too."

The girls looked at each other uncertainly.

"Hey," Ji Hoo put a gentle hand on Jan Di's elbow. "I'll be there with you so you don't have to be afraid. I can be your lifesaver. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Jan Di sighed heavily. "We're not really dressed for it." All three girls were wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts.

"Just go in like that," Yi Jung suggested. "We did. I mean, obviously you don't have to take your shirts off..."

Ga Eul glared at him. "We won't."

The girls hesitantly went into the water, a step in at a time. Before long, they were splashing around and giggling. The boys were right – it felt refreshing and cool, and was a nice relief from the scorching sun beating on them.

Ji Hoo stayed close to Jan Di and never left her sight the whole time. He held her as she floated, and after a while her love of water resurfaced. She beamed ecstatically at him, her confidence in the water restored, knowing that he would rescue her in a heartbeat at the first sign of trouble.

They all walked back to camp exhilarated and giddy, though their clothes were soaking wet. After changing they hung it on a makeshift clothes line – using some rope they found in the pack. None of them seemed remotely upset at the absence of fish once again.

"Wow. Look at us toughing it out." Yi Jung looked around proudly. "We could be on that show, Survivor!"

"You and your shows," Ji Hoo muttered, but he was smiling this time. "Let's survive _this show_ first, okay?"

…

After a very light lunch, Yi Jung called the other two boys aside.

"You boys want to come for a quick walk with me?"

Ji Hoo eyed him suspiciously. "What for?"

"You'll see. It's not too far from here, I swear."

Woo Bin shrugged, and they both turned to wait for Ji Hoo's response.

"I'm not too sure it's a good idea to go wandering off with you two again."

Yi Jung scoffed at him. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I'm pretty sure I left it back in Seoul with my sense of survival and _your_ common sense."

Yi Jung made a face. "Oh, come on! It's not too far! And it's still day light for half the day!"

He looked at the time. It _was_ still early – the sun would be out for several more hours. "Fine." He had no intention of getting lost again. He grabbed the small pack he had carried when they went hiking that morning – the pack that contained everything he deemed necessary to 'survive' a few hours trekking on the mountain.

They only had to walk a few minutes before Yi Jung stopped and started plucking some flowers from a nearby bush.

"We're here to pick flowers?" Woo Bin asked in disbelief.

Yi Jung grinned. "Ga Eul loves these wild roses," he explained, as he carefully plucked a few different colored ones. "I saw them as we were hiking up, but I figured I'd surprise her with them later."

Ji Hoo exchanged a surprised look with Woo Bin, then both nodded. They started picking some flowers too. There were a lot of them spread out along the side of the path – some red, some yellow, some white.

"Sometimes, you surprise me," Ji Hoo remarked, and Yi Jung just shook his head, but he was smiling.

They had almost gathered enough for a huge bouquet each when Yi Jung froze suddenly, his eyes focused ahead.

Ji Hoo followed his gaze and saw a lone wild chicken staring back at them. He squinted his eyes to see clearly, and he was certain that it was the same one that Yi Jung almost caught the previous night – the brown one with white feathers on its wings.

Yi Jung slowly took out his net and silently walked closer to the chicken. He had also taken out a small piece of bread and sprinkled it onto the ground. Woo Bin and Ji Hoo held their breaths as the chicken came even closer and started pecking on the bread.

"Gotcha!" Yi Jung exclaimed, as the net went over the chicken. The startled bird tried to get out, but Yi Jung had a death grip on the net this time.

The boys couldn't stop grinning at each other.

"Finally!" Woo Bin was grinning from ear to ear. "Meat! Oh, how I missed you!" He licked his lips in sweet anticipation.

Yi Jung took out a Swiss Army knife from his pocket and handed it to Ji Hoo. Ji Hoo's eyes widened as he realized what Yi Jung was asking him to do.

"Why me?"

"Well, you're the one with experience – you go fishing all the time and know how to clean them, don't you?"

Ji Hoo shook his head. "No way! When I go fishing by myself it's usually catch and release. It's only when Grandfather's with me that I actually eat what we catch – and that's because he does the dirty work for me. Besides, fish and chickens are different!" He handed the small knife to Woo Bin. "Woo Bin should have more experience with this kind of thing."

Woo Bin shook his head. "Dude, I don't know what you guys think I do on the side, but it's certainly not butchering animals." He handed the knife back to Yi Jung. "Since this was your idea..."

Yi Jung stared at them in horror, but reluctantly took the knife. Ji Hoo held the bird's legs and body down, while Woo Bin tried to steady the head and neck.

Yi Jung swallowed hard. _Think fried chicken, think fried chicken_ , he chanted out loud. He looked at the chicken, who put up little to no struggle but just looked back at him as he raised the knife. "I'm so sorry..." He whispered, as he brought the knife down.

…

Jan Di was busy braiding Ga Eul's hair when the boys walked back to camp. They were all grinning widely, but their hands were behind their backs.

"What did you guys do this time?" She asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

Each one of them produced a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers that they handed to them. The girls gasped in surprise.

Ga Eul threw her arms around Yi Jung, who beamed with pride.

"Wow, these are beautiful!" Hye Jin complimented, and Woo Bin gave her a boyish grin.

"Is this what you guys have been doing all this time?" She asked Ji Hoo.

"Well, actually, we have some good news for you girls." He put his hands in his pockets as he looked at the other two boys.

All three girls raised their brows curiously.

"You know how we saw some wild chickens last night?" Woo Bin reminded them.

"I thought you guys made that up. I was sure I heard there were no wild chickens in Korea?" Hye Jin inquired, puzzled.

"We really saw some, believe it or not!" Woo Bin sounded certain. "And you'll never guess what happened!"

The girls all stared at them, dumbfounded.

"We caught one today!" Yi Jung excitedly declared.

The girls all gasped. "That's great news!" Ga Eul exclaimed. "We can have roast chicken for dinner!"

The smiles disappeared from the boys' faces. Yi Jung stepped away from them and disappeared briefly behind some trees.

Ga Eul looked from Woo Bin to Ji Hoo and back. "What's going on? Did it escape again?"

"Not really." Ji Hoo bit his lower lip. "We pinned it down and tried to...butcher it."

"And?" Jan Di wasn't sure where he was going with this.

Understanding dawned on Ga Eul's face. "Oh no." She clapped a hand to her mouth. "You guys didn't."

Woo Bin winced. "We did."

Just then, Yi Jung walked in holding a thin string. At the end of the string walked a small brown chicken with white streaks on its wings.

"Girls, we'd like you to meet Colonel Sanders."

…


	19. Chapter 19 (Bonus Chapter)

**Chapter 19 (Bonus Story): The Trip**

"YOU NAMED OUR DINNER?" Hye Jin's jaw dropped wide open.

"Hush, he might hear you!" Yi Jung scolded. He looked back at Colonel Sanders and mouthed: _She didn't mean it_.

"But it's a chicken!" Hye Jin protested. She took a few steps closer to the chicken. "If you guys can't butcher it, let me do it."

The look of horror that appeared on the boys' faces said it all.

"We're not eating it, are we?" Hye Jin's shoulders dropped, her face etched with disappointment.

"We're not keeping it either," Ga Eul said, voice firm.

"But..." Yi Jung objected, but Ga Eul glared back at him.

Jan Di let out a heavy sigh. "I'll go boil some water for our ramyeon dinner."

"Maybe we can just stare at the chicken while we eat and imagine it on our soup." Hye Jin muttered under her breath.

"Colonel Sanders might feel uncomfortable..." Woo Bin started to say, but stopped when he saw the look on Hye Jin's face.

"I promise I'll treat you girls to all the chicken you can eat when we get back to Seoul." Yi Jung was still holding one end of the string. "Just leave Colonel Sanders alone."

The other end of the string was tied around the chicken's left leg. It paid no attention to their conversation and just pecked happily at the ground. It seemed used to having people around, and for a minute Jan Di wondered if maybe it _was_ someone's pet.

"Just out of curiosity," Ga Eul began, as they ate their noodles. "Don't you guys get hungry, you know, every time you mention its name? Doesn't it make you guys think of...oh, I don't know...fried chicken?"

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. "Not really. Why?"

"Oh nothing. It's just a weird name for a chicken."

"I think it's a good name," Yi Jung said proudly. "It suits him." He scratched his head. "Although I can't quite remember where I heard the name from. It kind of just popped in my head."

Ga Eul snorted. "You're so lucky you're cute."

Yi Jung beamed at her, revealing the deep dimples that graced both cheeks. Ga Eul blushed slightly and turned away.

"And what exactly are you guys planning to do with it? Are you bringing it back to Seoul?" Jan Di looked questioningly at each of the guys.

"Well, we haven't exactly thought that far ahead yet…" Ji Hoo scratched his head.

"That far ahead? We're leaving tomorrow morning!" Jan Di raised an eyebrow at him. "Where are you putting it tonight? Is it sleeping with you guys in your tent?"

The boys looked uncertainly at each other.

"It's not sleeping with us, that's for sure." Ga Eul's mouth was set on a thin line.

"There were three others like it yesterday. Maybe we can reunite it with its family tomorrow before we leave?" Yi Jung's face was pleading.

"It's a chicken! That you found in the wild! If you guys weren't going to eat it, you should have left it where you found it!"

Yi Jung tried to muster the saddest face he could come up with. "But there are a lot of predators out there! Colonel Sanders won't be safe out there tonight!"

Ga Eul put both hands on her hips. "Well, considering you boys seem to be the only predators it had the pleasure of meeting recently, and you took it in as a pet, I'd say Colonel Sanders should be okay, don't you think?"

"Just for tonight? Please? We'll release it tomorrow morning."

Ga Eul sighed in resignation. "Fine. But we're not cleaning up after it!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this why you guys got us flowers? As a bribe?"

Yi Jung adamantly shook his head. "No, no. We planned to get you girls those before we found Colonel Sanders. I swear!"

"Makes you wish they hadn't tried to do something sweet like that for us huh?" Jan Di whispered to Hye Jin, who simply nodded.

...

After dinner Jan Di asked Woo Bin to bring a pail of water from the stream to wash dishes with. He crouched beside her as she scrubbed the meager dishes that they had.

"Sunbae, can I ask you a question?"

Woo Bin turned to face her. "Colonel Sanders wasn't exactly my…"

"Not about that!" Jan Di interrupted. Then she lowered her voice. "How are things with you and Hye Jin?"

He shrugged. "Good, I think?"

"She said you haven't told her much about you."

He tore his gaze away from her and his eyes darted on Hye Jin, who was busy helping Ji Hoo pile some more wood. "I told her what she needed to know. I'm afraid if she finds out how different we are, she might run away screaming." He gave her a sheepish grin. "I actually want this relationship to last."

Jan Di met his eyes. "You know, a great relationship is about two things. First, you need to appreciate your similarities. And second, you need to respect your differences. This means being honest with each other. Then you'll know if you really like each other." She leaned closer to his ear. "Besides, I don't think she's one that's easily scared away. She's done well on an impromptu camping trip with us, after all." Woo Bin grinned, and she grinned back. "And by the way, she's pretty capable of taking care of herself, so you don't have to be so over protective of her."

"I see." Woo Bin seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I'll keep that in mind." He glanced over at Hye Jin and a corner of his mouth turned upwards. "Sometimes I just can't help it though. I feel like I've been given something precious that I have to protect and keep safe."

"Just don't overdo it." She stood up, having finished washing the dishes. She took them into the cabin to stack them on the small counter. When she came out, the others were sitting around the fire pit. There was still a little bit of daylight left, so they hadn't lit the fire pit yet. The boys sat on one side, with the chicken tied to a small tree beside Yi Jung, while the girls sat on the other side.

"We're trying to think of a game we can play," Ga Eul said, as she sat down beside her.

"A game we can all play _right now_ ," emphasized Hye Jin. Jan Di gave her a puzzled look. "Well, the boys kept coming up with things like hockey, or skeet shooting, or basketball and such. None of which we have the equipment for, by the way."

"Ooooh...what about Red Light, Green Light?" Jan Di suggested, and everyone's faces lit up at this. It was a game everyone used to play when they were little.

They chose Woo Bin to be the stop light first, and the rest tried to move forward to touch him, whenever the "light" was green. They laughed merrily like little children, as they realized none of them could really stay still for long when the light was red. In the end Ji Hoo won, simply because he was used to staying still for a long time.

"That was fun!" Ga Eul cried.

They all sat around the campfire, which was now lit, as the sun was slowly starting to descend the beautifully tranquil sky. They sat there thinking about other games they could play.

"What about hide and seek?" Yi Jung proposed, but the girls shook their heads at this.

"Why not?" Woo Bin asked.

Jan Di tilted her head to the side and looked at him. "It's going to get dark soon and I really don't want to be looking for you guys around here in the dark."

"Plus," Ga Eul added, "I'm afraid if we let you boys wander around again, you'd come back with two more chickens, a duck and a wild goat that we can't eat!"

"Good point." Ji Hoo agreed, a smile on his lips.

"How about charades?" Hye Jin suggested. "All we need is a pen and a piece of paper!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. For categories, Hye Jin suggested they pick an easy topic that everyone should know about. The general consensus led to "movies" as the category – and they decided on the classic Hollywood hit movies to make sure everyone had seen it. Hye Jin gave each of them a piece of paper to write a movie on.

"This way, each of us will at least know one movie to guess," she explained.

When it was time to form teams, the girls all decided to band together. The boys did not protest this, as they had also seen their fair share of hit Hollywood movies.

The score was tied at 1-1 (Ji Hoo and Hye Jin having gone first) when it was Yi Jung's time to pick. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand. It said: _Titanic_. He stood there and frowned, thinking of the best way to act out the movie. He'd seen it ages ago, of course – mainly because their entire class had decided to go watch it. He remembered one specific scene from the movie – the most iconic scene depicted on every poster for the movie.

He put up one finger to indicate it as one word, then stuck out his chest, and spread out his hands so he looked like a cross. It was the classic scene when Jack made Rose stand on the railing of the ship, grabbed her arms as she extended them out, and Rose said, "I'm flying!" as the ocean breeze ruffled her hair. Yi Jung was certain the boys would get it.

Woo Bin and Ji Hoo cocked their heads to the side, forehead creased and deep in thought.

The girls all looked at each other knowingly, and he heard them whispering to each other. They seemed to know exactly what movie it was. Yi Jung felt relieved knowing that if the girls got it immediately, then Woo Bin and Ji Hoo should have no issues.

"Spiderman?" Woo Bin offered, and Yi Jung gave an exasperated sigh. He shook his head and tried again.

"Braveheart?" Ji Hoo said, looking absolutely clueless.

"Aliens?"

"Batman?"

The girls had their hands covering their mouths as they tried their best to stifle their laughter.

After a few more tries (and the timer ticking by), an irritated Yi Jung decide to pull Woo Bin to act it out with him. He posed Woo Bin as Rose, and then stood behind him to pretend he was Jack. Woo Bin looked confused, but both of them turned to look at Ji Hoo.

Ji Hoo looked panicked at the attention and the fact that they had mere seconds to guess. Looking at the two of them he blurted, "Dumb and Dumber!"

The girls burst out into a roar of laughter. They were literally rolling on the ground laughing out loud, tears streaming down their faces as they held on to their stomachs.

"It's one freaking word!" Yi Jung exclaimed, unable to hold his frustration.

"Dumb?" Woo Bin tried.

Yi Jung looked about ready to explode.

"You said one word!" Woo Bin reasoned.

"That's not even a movie!"

"How would you know? Have you seen it?"

"No! That's not the point!"

Ji Hoo just watched as his teammates argued, hoping he wouldn't get roped into it.

"Time's up!" Jan Di gasped, between breaths. She wiped the tears away from her eyes.

All three girls tried to pull themselves up to sit again, but kept falling off their 'chairs'.

The boys scowled at them.

"We're laughing _with_ you!" Ga Eul said, trying to comfort them a little.

"But we're not even laughing!" Yi Jung replied, looking somewhat hurt.

"Then just pretend we're laughing with you."

Yi Jung crossed his arms in front of him. "I want new team mates."

"Maybe you should ask Colonel Sanders to join you." Hye Jin advised. She broke out into a fit of laughter two seconds later.

They couldn't continue the game after that as the girls took a few more minutes to compose themselves (they kept bursting out laughing every 5 seconds or so), while the boys simply sat there and sulked, until Jan Di suggested they should sing some camp songs to lighten the mood.

"Anyone know any camping songs?" Jan Di asked around. When no one answered, she simply nodded. "Let's just sing whatever we want to sing then." She pointed at Ji Hoo. "Why don't you start?"

Ji Hoo hesitated at first, but since it was Jan Di who asked, he cleared his throat and started singing. He sang the first verse of Flying Without Wings (by Westlife), his voice ringing loud and clear, and soon the other two guys joined in. The girls giggled with delight as the boys sang in perfect harmony, and even stood up and imitated the band's actions from their music video. The lyrics resonated with all of them, especially Jan Di, who felt goosebumps crawl up her arms.

They sang a few more songs; some sappy, some lively, and soon everyone was in high spirits again.

A cold wind blew past the camp site, and Jan Di wrapped her arms around her, feeling the coming chill of the night. It was getting late anyway, and they soon decided it was time to go to sleep.

"What are you going to do with the chicken? Put it in the sleeping bag with you?" Ga Eul asked Yi Jung as he led the chicken towards the tent.

In their short time with the chicken, the boys had realized that this would be a really terrible idea.

"We'll tie him up close to the tent." He answered, though there was a note of hesitation in this voice. "Ji Hoo and Woo Bin are trying to build a little shelter for him against this wind."

She looked over and found the other two tying pieces of wood together to form a small hut. She wasn't sure she trusted the sturdiness of it, which made her feel a little worried for Colonel Sanders. "Umm...just make sure it doesn't fall on him tonight."

She went inside the cabin and found Jan Di and Hye Jin trying to close the window that they had opened the night before. It seemed stuck in place. They decided to call Woo Bin for help.

He gave it one big tug and pulled hard.

And the entire window came off its hinges and shattered onto the ground.

They all looked at each other in dismay. The wind had picked up even more, and the breeze made them shiver.

"We could sleep here tonight. You girls take the tent." Woo Bin offered, his face apologetic.

"But then you guys will get cold." Jan Di replied. She shuddered to think how the boys would fare at a night like this. She knew that if anyone could survive this, it would be the girls.

"No, we'll be okay," Ji Hoo reassured her. "I'd sleep better knowing you're nice and warm in there."

"But I won't." She protested. He was unyielding in his decision so she took her sleeping bag and stepped inside the tent.

The tent was quite roomy inside, even after the three of them had laid their sleeping bags on the floor. The girls looked at each other, the same idea running through their minds.

"Do you guys maybe want to come in here with us tonight?" Jan Di called out, and three heads appeared on the window.

"Really?" They asked in unison.

"It will be tight, but at least we'll all be warm."

The boys seemed to consider this for only half a second before all of them were inside the tent.

"Don't get any ideas," Jan Di warned, but she couldn't wipe the grins off their faces.

Ji Hoo looked amused. "Really? You're asking Don Juan and Casanova over there not to get any ideas?"

"We'll keep them in line," Ga Eul said, and Hye Jin nodded beside her.

"I'm way too tired to turn my charm on anyway," Yi Jung yawned, as he laid his sleeping bag beside Ga Eul's. He started unzipping the side but suddenly paused. "Wait. What about Colonel Sanders? He'll be cold out there!"

"We could put him inside the cabin," Ji Hoo suggested. "It's not like we're going in there again anyway."

They all agreed this wasn't a bad idea, so they put the chicken inside the cabin, and all three boys wished the chicken good night.

"Why is he wearing my scarf?" Ji Hoo asked in horror as he recognized the blue bandana.

"So he wouldn't get cold," Yi Jung answered, matter-of-factly.

"Is that my shirt he's lying on?" Woo Bin groaned. "That's my favorite shirt!"

"I'll buy you a new one." Yi Jung calmly responded.

"Wait, how come you don't have anything you gave up for it?" Woo Bin asked.

"I've been feeding him all this time. I gave him my bread ration AND my water."

The other two mumbled something unintelligible while Yi Jung ignored them.

"Hey guys, I just realized Colonel Sanders is our first pet together." Yi Jung sounded amused.

Ji Hoo raised his eyebrow. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not moving in with you guys to share custody of it. Besides, we promised the girls we'll leave it here tomorrow."

"I guess we did." Woo Bin said sadly, as they closed the door.

...

The couples laid down side by side, each in their individual sleeping bags, and smiled shyly as they faced each other.

The wind howled outside and the tent shook a little, but they hardly noticed or paid any attention to it.

"I have a confession to make," Ji Hoo whispered.

"What is it?" Jan Di whispered back.

It took him a few seconds to answer. "I'm afraid of spiders."

"I know."

His eyes widened.

"We heard you guys talking last night."

"Oh." He tore his eyes away from her. "What did you girls hear?"

She grinned. "Pretty much everything." Her eyes briefly scanned the tent. "There's really no sound barrier on this thing, you know."

He turned red at this, embarrassed. "I hope you don't think less of me because of this trip."

Her eyes softened at him. "If anything, I think more of you now." When he gave her a perplexed look she continued. "I was getting a little insecure being with such a perfect guy. Seeing you boys so out of your element but still trying was a delight to watch. It's nice knowing that you get upset, you panic, you mess up, and there are some things you can't do. You know, that you're not so perfect after all."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It definitely is. I"m glad I got to know this side of you." She grinned again. "At least now I know that if you get me angry or upset I can just put a spider on the bed to get even."

His eyes went wide in horror, but softened as she chuckled quietly.

"Relax, I was kidding."

Jan Di laid her head on Ji Hoo's arm, and they both sighed contentedly as they snuggled closer together.

"What are you thinking of?" She asked him. He looked blissfully at peace.

"This is just how I imagined this weekend to be."

She arched an eyebrow. "Really? You imagined spending the weekend in a tent with four other people?"

He gave a quiet laugh. "I meant, _without_ the other four people around us."

"You know we can hear you guys, right?" Yi Jung cut in, sounding annoyed.

"There are some ear plugs in the pack to fix that." Ji Hoo offered, without taking his eyes off her.

"I'd still hear you!" He argued. "We're like, a foot away from you!"

"If you don't like it, go join Colonel Sanders in the cabin."

"I would but Ga Eul would get cold." Yi Jung argued indignantly.

"Who said anything about Ga Eul joining you? Ga Eul can stay."

Jan Di heard Ga Eul snicker.

"Will you guys stop bickering already? Some of us are _actually_ trying to sleep." Woo Bin's voice sounded irritated.

Jan Di lifted her head up to look over at Woo Bin and Hye Jin. Hye Jin was fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. Woo Bin was turned towards her, his head cradled in his hands as he watched her sleep.

"Because that's not creepy at all." Yi Jung whispered, sarcastically. "I just love it when people watch me sleep."

…

Jan Di woke up feeling like a million bucks. She slept soundly through the night – as if she slept on a bed of feathers. She opened her eyes and realized Ji Hoo's arm was still around her. She felt warm, comfortable, and safe in his arms. _Soon enough_ , she thought. _This would be my every day_.

"Colonel Sanders is missing!" Yi Jung burst into the tent, his face in a panic.

All of them sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

"What? Are you sure?" Woo Bin asked.

"I went to check on him this morning to give him some food, and he was nowhere to be seen!" Yi Jung looked around frantically.

"Maybe he escaped through the window?" Jan Di suggested.

"You're probably right," Ji Hoo mumbled, still drowsy. "We forgot to cover it last night."

"We need to send out a search party!" Yi Jung exclaimed.

"Where's Ga Eul?" Jan Di asked, sleepily. She saw her friend's sleeping bag neatly folded in a corner.

"Oh, she went to get some water." Yi Jung answered distractedly. "Or maybe she went to pee, I can't remember. I was still half asleep when she left the tent."

They all got up, folded their sleeping bags, and went out to help search for Colonel Sanders.

"Quick, how do you call a chicken?" Ji Hoo asked. Jan Di would have thought he was kidding if not for the serious expression on his face.

"Not through a phone, that's for sure," Hye Jin murmured.

"I don't exactly know how to answer that question." Jan Di pursed her lips, afraid she would burst out laughing any minute.

Yi Jung was going around shouting "Colonel Sanders!", while Woo Bin walked around making clucking noises. Ji Hoo quietly looked at every nook and cranny in the cabin. None of them found Colonel Sanders.

Ga Eul came back to find them all sitting around the fire pit looking depressed.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"Colonel Sanders escaped." Yi Jung replied.

Ga Eul bit her lip. "Maybe he went back to his family?"

"Let's hope so." Yi Jung retorted, doubtfully. "We never even got to say goodbye."

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "Oh for goodness' sake...it's a chicken."

"Yes, but he was _our_ chicken."

Jan Di went over to whisper in Ga Eul's ear. "Have you seen where it went?"

Ga Eul smiled knowingly. "Let's just say it 'escaped' and leave it at that, okay?"

Her eyes went wide. "Is it okay?"

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "Of course. I would never hurt the poor thing. I actually saw the other chickens near the stream so I took it there. It seemed happier there anyway. After listening to the boys talk to it last night, I figured it probably wished they had eaten it instead."

She heaved a sigh of relief. "Shouldn't we tell the boys?"

"And what? You want to end up with four chickens in that small van on the way home?"

"Good point."

It took a while to convince the boys to stop looking for Colonel Sanders and to start packing up the site so they could go home.

"It should be easier to take down, right?" Ji Hoo asked the other two boys as all three of them stared at the tent.

Woo Bin held up the bag. "It's supposed to fit back in here when we're done."

"Forget it, then." Yi Jung sighed. "I'm just going to donate this tent to this mountain."

Hye Jin appeared and stood beside Woo Bin. "We're not supposed to leave anything out here."

The boys set out to take down the tent, and with Hye Jin's help, miraculously managed to fit the tent back into the bag. The others were almost done packing up all their stuff. Without all the food (just empty food wrappers), the packs were a little lighter.

All six of them looked at the cabin (with the now missing window) in dismay.

"I'll just contact them and pay for it. Even though they should be paying me for this." Yi Jung muttered.

They all started their descent eagerly, talking and dreaming about the different types of food they would eat as soon as they got back to civilization. Halfway down the mountain, and between a couple of huge trees, Ji Hoo spied the parking lot at the bottom.

"Hey, I could see our rusty van from up here." He called out.

"I'm surprised that rust bucket made it all the way here without an incident." Woo Bin observed.

"Don't jinx us!" Ga Eul scolded.

They continued walking and chatting happily, all six of them a little closer to each other because of the experience.

"I didn't think I would say this, but I honestly had fun." Ji Hoo gave Yi Jung a quick pat on the back.

"Me too, man." Woo Bin agreed, and Yi Jung beamed. "Although yesterday was way better than the other day. I'm glad we did this."

The girls took turns thanking Yi Jung for the trip, claiming it was the most fun weekend they've ever had. Yi Jung positively glowed at all the praises that he received. He smiled widely at Ji Hoo.

Ji Hoo shook his head. "You're still not allowed to plan my stag."

"Why not? It's not like we're going camping for it!" Yi Jung reasoned. "Maybe we'll go to Vegas!"

"Vegas seems so cliché, though, don't you think?" Woo Bin chimed in. "I'd have thought you'd be more original. Besides, I don't think Jan Di would approve."

All three boys turned their attention to Jan Di.

She shrugged. "I don't care. Do what you want." She trusted Ji Hoo completely.

Ji Hoo nodded happily, but Woo Bin and Yi Jung looked at her in disbelief.

"Whoa whoa whoa..." Woo Bin said, as Ji Hoo looked at him in bewilderment. "I heard that if a woman says, 'do what you want.' Do NOT ever do what you want. Stand still, do not blink, do not answer, don't even bother to breathe. It's better to just play dead!"

"Oh yeah, I think I remember seeing that somewhere."

"You guys watch too many movies," Jan Di laughed.

"None of them Titanic, apparently." Yi Jung muttered wryly.

...

A few minutes later, they came across a couple of old men heading down the mountain also. The men stopped and gave them a puzzled look.

"What are you kids doing up here?" One of them, a slightly balding man holding a small cage, asked.

"Oh, we just finished camping and are now heading home." Ji Hoo replied politely.

The man looked surprised. "Camping? Up on this mountain?" He eyed the group closely. "You guys must be hard core campers then. This here's a pretty rough mountain to camp in." He turned to the girls. "You girls sure are lucky to have three strapping young lads to help you survive out here."

The boys straightened themselves up, lifted their chins smugly and puffed out their chests a little.

Hye Jin opened her mouth to contradict but Jan Di leaned over to whisper in her ear. " _Don't pop their bubble._ "

The second man, who looked to be in his mid-fifties and wore a dirty old baseball cap, bent over to look inside the cage he was holding.

Jan Di's eyes widened as she saw what was in the cage.

It was Colonel Sanders, still wearing Ji Hoo's blue bandana.

"Colonel Sanders!" Yi Jung called out, running closer to the cage.

"Who?" The second man furrowed his brows, confused.

"Where did you find him?" Woo Bin asked, bending over to look inside the cage.

"Oh, these chickens?" The first man smiled. "I asked my boy to bring them to the chalet a couple of nights ago but he let them escape somehow." He scratched his head. "He said he wanted to save them, the nut. He even brought them to the wrong place. Good thing we found them this morning."

"Chalet?" Jan Di grimaced. "You mean that ratty old cabin we stayed in?"

The men looked at her, bewildered. "You mean the cabin up there?"

She nodded. The others huddled around her.

"Why would you kids be up there? That cabin's been abandoned for decades!" The second man declared.

Yi Jung pulled out a pamphlet. "No, that can't be right." He pointed at the piece of paper. "See here? I reserved it for this weekend." He frowned. "Even though for the price I paid for it, the rental company will definitely be hearing from me! It's nothing like they described! That's false advertising!"

The first man looked closely at the piece of paper. Then he chuckled. "That's not the right cabin. You want the one on the _other side_ of this mountain." He pointed across to the other peak. "That side is where that nice, big chalet is." His eyes drifted off dreamily. "Man, that is probably one of the nicest and most luxurious chalets I've ever seen. Huge, fully stocked kitchen, nice big bathroom, wood burning fireplace and a great big outdoor firepit area with a barbeque. I heard it even comes with a chef to cook for you and a maid to clean up." He lowered his voice as if sharing some hidden secret. "And you should see the size of the hot tub they just installed!"

Five pairs of eyes slowly turned to glare at Yi Jung.

Yi Jung shrank back and put his hands up defensively in front of him. "Hey guys, think of all the fun we had! The once-in-a-lifetime experiences! I bet you wouldn't have experienced that if we hadn't been roughing it."

Ji Hoo's face was unreadable as he leaned closer to Yi Jung. "Tell me something... in the KDrama you saw, did the person who planned the trip survive the ending of the show?" A wolfish grin slowly spread across his face. "Because I don't think ours will."

…

* * *

~ The End of the Bonus Story! ~

 _***Author's note: Well, I hope you enjoyed this! I was actually surprised it went five chapters long, considering it's only supposed to be a chapter! Lol. Oh well. I had a lot of fun writing this. Once again, I appreciate comments and reviews so please do write some!_

***HISHE Part 3 (The Return) is now posted! Go check it out!***

 _Thank you for reading this! Have a great day!_

 _~cutestuff024_


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